Service Definitions
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Necropsy Examination
Refers to the dissection of the bodies of dead animals in order to determine the time, circumstances and potential cause(s) of death, the presence or absence of infectious or contagious diseases or to document the presence of trauma, injury or animal abuse.
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Cause of Death
Refers to an official determination of conditions resulting in an animal's death.
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Gross
Refers to evaluation of the internal organs during the autopsy with the unaided eye (no magnification or microscope)
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Microscopic or Histopathologic
Refers to the evaluation of tissue samples collected during the autopsy with a microscope. Tissue samples that are collected during the autopsy must first be fixed in formalin (formaldehyde) and then trimmed for special processing and microscopic slide preparation.
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Board Certified Pathologist
Refers to specialized training in pathology. Requirements include three years of residency training and passing a rigorous board examination.
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PCR
Polymerase chain reaction is a laboratory test that is a fast, and highly accurate, way to diagnose certain infectious diseases.
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Toxicology
Refers to branch of science concerned with the nature, effects, and detection of poisons. At NSG we can collect samples (usually urine or liver) and submit them to the toxicology lab at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory.
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Radiology
Refers to the use of X-ray imaging to detect disease. In the setting of post mortem pathology it is most useful in detecting bone fractures. Other soft tissue pathology is more easily diagnosed during autopsy.
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Microbiology
Refers to evaluation for the presence of microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, etc). This can be performed through direct culture methods or evaluation of tissue samples collected during necropsy for specific genomic sequences using PCR.
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