Case Studies

  • Visceral mast cell tumor in a cat

    An 11 year-old, spayed female, domestic longhaired cat was submitted to the Texas A&M Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) for necropsy.  The clinical history mentioned depression with periodic vomiting for 2 to 3 days.  The animal was given medication for the vomiting and died soon afterwards.  The primary lesion observed at necropsy was marked splenomegaly; the…

  • Weimaraner puppy diagnosed with Chagas disease

    Chagas disease was diagnosed via blood smear and buffy coat examination in a clinically ill puppy with ascites. Although classically observed as trypomastigotes (elongated forms) in fresh samples, these organisms can transform into a rounded form with storage (as depicted here). Chagas disease is caused by the protozoal organism, Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted by the…

  • When T4 and Free T4 don’t match

    A two-year-old mixed breed dog was presented to their veterinarian for an inability to lose weight and mild hair loss. Blood was collected and serum was submitted to the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) for the Canine Basic Thyroid Panel. Results are reported below. Test Result Flag Reference Interval Unit Method T4 0.61…

  • Zinc contamination in serum samples

    The Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory’s (TVMDL) analytical chemistry section performed zinc testing on a small set of paired samples. Prior to testing, blood was collected from four clinically healthy animals and divided into two tubes with EDTA. One tube was a standard microtainer tube with a rubber o-ring buried in the groove of…