Brookpark Veterinary Hospital, Dunmanway, Co. Cork. A Clinic for pets, farm animals and horses.

We have our own biochemistry machine and haematology machine the practice. It means that we can get quick and accurate results for all our cases that require these kinds of tests. Our in house laboratory is ever expanding and we can now run the following tests on the premisis:-

• Biochemistry
• Pre anaesthetic bloods
• Haematology (incl blood smear)
• Urinalysis
• (Separate) Blood glucose
• FIV and FeLV testing

Anything that can not be done in house is sent away to an external lab and a courier service can be arranged if necessary.

The biochemistry is commonly used in the senior pets check up. It will give the vet a good picture of how your pet's major internal organs (e.g. liver and kidneys) are functioning. With age, the efficiency of these organs can deplete, but if any flags are raised from the bloods, the vet will be able to go through with you the best course of action to take.

Sometimes, if your pet is on a certain medication he or she may need to come in for regular blood tests to ensure that the medications are doing their job or to measure what effect the medication is having on the body. You would get a reminder in the post for that in the month that the blood test is due. The in house biochemistry machine also means we can run pre anaesthetic profiles. This test is advisable for any pet having an aneasthetic, but is more important for those who are already sick and therefore high risk (e.g. have diabetes or are OAPs). By doing this, we can determine what measures may need to be taken to help your pet recover from the anaesthetic better. The biochemistry machine can give us values for cats, dogs and horses.

The haematology machine is mainly used to tell us if there are any abnormalities in an animal's blood cells. It is an efficient way of showing any signs of infection in an animal. It is usually used for cats, dogs and horses, but can also give values for pigs, cows and even parrots.

The test on the machine is followed up by a manual analysis of the blood by doing a blood smear in our lab and looking at the cells on the slide through the microscope. Together, both of these tests will give a good picture of your pets blood cells and help the vet make decisions on the best treatment for your pet.