Hematology-instruments that analyze blood cells can at specific cases be followed by manual counting with a hemocytometer. The plastic hemocytometer which has a fixed coverslip and is assigned for disposable use, appears to reduce the problems arising from the use of the traditional glass hemocytometer, for instance coverslip-application difficulty and dust particles. Capillary whole blood sampling may be useful for patients at the emergency department and in addition, a smaller volume of blood is taken compared to venous blood sampling. This study will focus on the platelet- and leukocyte count (PLT and WBC) in venous and capillary blood, in order to compare the plastic- and glass hemocytometers with Sysmex XN-2000 (Sysmex Corporation, Kobe, Japan), and verify if capillary whole blood sampling can be used for the measurement of these hematological parameters. 30 subjects donated both capillary- and venous blood samples and these blood samples were analyzed with glass- and plastic hemocytometers with Sysmex XN-2000 as the reference method.

Two haematological instruments intended for small animal clinic use were evaluated at the Department of Clinical Chemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden. The QBC-V and Vet abc were compared to a reference instrument, the Cell-Dyn 3500. Fresh blood samples were obtained from canine and feline patients from the University Veterinary Hospital, SLU. The QBC-V was used for 111 canine samples and 78 canine blood samples were analysed with Vet abc. From cats, 23 samples were analysed with both instruments.

In Sweden, lowest acceptable haemoglobin levels in blood donators are 125g/L for women and 135g/L for men for a test sample taken in the beginning of the blood donation. Levels, which are 10g/L lower, are accepted if the sample is taken after the blood donation. Earlier studies show that the haemoglobin level decreases for a person that is lying down.The two aims of this study were to examine how much the haemoglobin levels change during blood donation and to examine if the photometrical instrument Pronto-7TM shows equivalent results to that of the established method Cell-Dyn Sapphire.In the study, 120 blood donors participated. Blood samples were taken in the beginning and in the end of the donation. Analyses by Pronto-7TM were done before and after the donation.The haemoglobin level decreased significantly during the blood donation.

The objective of this work was to evaluate and compare three field methods for detection of mastitis, California Mastits Test (CMT), DeLaval cell counter DCC (DCC) and FMA2001 Farm Milk Analyzer (FMA2001). Furthermore, to investigate at what cell count level clinical symptoms of mastitis are seen, and finally to check if the clinical findings and cell counts could be related to bacteriological findings. DCC and FMA2001 are new analytic instruments to be used on dairy farms for detection of mastitis. CMT has been a widely used cow-side-test of milk quality in mastitis control efforts, but it cannot be used for estimating cell counts in scientific studies or investigations. Two hundred and eight quarter milk samples from 52 cows were analysed with DCC and CMT, and 168 of these samples with FMA2001. Microbiological examination was done on 38 milk samples with CMT scores of 4 and 5.

Platelet aggregation is a major and common problem in blood samples from cats. This greatly affects the accuracy of counting of the platelets. Because of the difficulties in counting feline platelets, results for patients and reliable reference values for cat platelets are currently so inaccurate as to be almost useless in diagnosis of thrombocytopenia. In this study we used an effective method to prevent platelet aggregation. Blood was collected in CTAD test tubes and prostaglandin E1 was added to the blood sample.

Hemoglobin is an oxygen binding protein in erythrocytes. Hemoglobin is composed of four polypeptide chains. During the fetal stage the type of hemoglobin called fetal hemoglobin (HbF) dominates. After birth HbF is replaced by adult hemoglobin (HbA). HbF persists in concentrations less than 1%.

Hemoglobin is an oxygen binding protein in erythrocytes. Hemoglobin is composed of four polypeptide chains. During the fetal stage the type of hemoglobin called fetal hemoglobin (HbF) dominates. After birth HbF is replaced by adult hemoglobin (HbA). HbF persists in concentrations less than 1%.

Blood sampling is one of the most important diagnostic tools in veterinary medicine, and this is also true for avian medicine. A properly collected and handled venous sample can be used for serology, biochemistry and electrolyte analysis, as well as for blood smears, packed cell volume and cell differentiation. Caring for sick birds is a challenge for all veterinary staff. Many birds are easily stressed individuals, and to a very ill bird a big increase in stress level can even be fatal. Avian patients who are presented in a veterinary clinic are often in a poor condition, and blood sampling is an invasive procedure that can cause stress to the patient.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the cow-level association between acute hoof lesions and the somatic milk cell count in dairy cattle. Cows from three loose-housed Swedish dairy herds were enrolled in the study if they had an acute hoof lesion treated by a veterinarian or professional hoof trimmer during the preceding year, according to farmer records. Studied lesions were sole ulcer, dermatitis, interdigital necrobacillosis and hoof abscess, in each case causing lameness. For each hoof-diseased cow, 0 to 3 healthy cows were included, matched with respect to herd, breed, parity and lactation stage. Cell counts were obtained from monthly test recordings from one month before to three months after the hoof-lesion diagnosis, and log-transformed.

Six cows were subjected to an intravenous glucose tolerance test (GTT) to evaluate the amount of glucose that is needed to stimulate the release of insulin from pancreas. Four of the cows were in early lactation and two were non-lactating and not pregnant. Series of blood-samples were collected to analyze the concentration of insulin and glucose in the blood. The cows were given lower levels of glucose than have been used in earlier glucose tolerance tests. The levels of glucose given were 7,5 mg/kg BW, 15 mg/kg BW, 30 mg/kg BW and 50 mg/kg BW.

This study was performed to investigate the possibility to use ultrasonography as a diagnostic tool for sub-clinical mastitis in dairy cows. Five cows with high cell counts, and four cows with low cell counts were selected as cases and controls, respectively, and their udders examined with ultrasound during a 5 week period. The image of the udders of cows with high cell counts exhibited small, hyper-echoic, rounded foci, approximately 1 cm in diameter, near the milk cisterns and the base of the teats. These changes were not found consistently in all cows with high cell count, however. Ultrasonography may be a valuable complementary tool in the diagnosis of sub-clinical mastitis in dairy cow, but more cases need to be monitored before its full value can be ascertained..

Mastitis, inflammation in the udder tissue, caused by S. aureus is a big problem in dairy cattle production. It causes suffering for the cow and curing or replacing the infected cow is costly for the farmer. It is known that beef cattle also suffer from mastitis caused by S. aureus.

Erythropoiesis is a complex and carefully controlled process which is mainly regulated by erythropoietin. Using flow cytometry cells in a blood sample can be analyzed one by one. ADVIA 2120 using flow cytometry for analysis of red blood cells (RBC) and reticulocytes. Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a component of the RBC method. RDW indicates size variation on erythrocytes and is measured as a percentage of the mean cell volume (MCV). By measuring the RDW anemia can be divided into makrocytic, microcytic or normocytic. Reticulocytes refract light more strongly than red blood cells because they contain some cellular debris. The number of reticulocytes in the peripheral blood reflects erythropoiesis in the bone marrow. The purpose of this project was that by approved methods to establish reference ranges for the parameters, RDW and reticulocyte counts.The individuals who participated in the study, n=124, were considered healthy and had varying ethnicity. Reference subjects had not donated blood the last six months and participation in the study was voluntary.The statistic evaluation includes examination of distribution, and reference ranges for both men and women were established using the 2.5:t and 97.5:t percentiles. The calculated reference interval for RDW was between 12.0 ? 14.3% and the calculated reference interval for reticulocytes was between 38.0 ? 112.8 x109 cells/L. The results showed a significant difference between males and females for the parameter reticulocytes was seen. The difference indicates that different reference ranges should be established for men and women (p<0,0001). No significant difference between males and females were seen for RDW (p=0,74) indicating that the same reference ranges can be used for both men and women. .

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common non-melanoma skin cancer. It can be divided in different subtypes. The most common type is superficial and is most frequently occurring on the trunk and on the face. In severe cases it can be difficult to differentiate basal cell carcinoma from other skin tumors, therefore a skin biopsy is conclusive diagnostic method. In terms of treatment, curettage is a common non-surgical treatment of basal cell carcinoma.

Flowcytometric technology has been widely used for measurement of the absolute numbers of T-lymphocytes subsets in Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV), defining the disease state, monitoring antiviral treatment, and identifying any risk for opportunistic infections. A manual preparing of the samples is required. More recently an automated and enclosed blood cell counting, Celldyn Sapphire has been introduced. In this study the performance of the Flow cytometer EPICS XL as a reference method for analysis of CD3+, CD4+ and CD8 T-lymphocytes was evaluated with blood from 40 individual?s samples.