What should be sampled?
- Liver, lung, kidney, intestines, forestomachs, heart, mammary gland, uterus and fetus if applicable.
- Anything that does not look normal. For example, inflamed (red, swollen) tissue or any tissue that does not have a smooth shiny surface.
- Samples taken should reflect the clinical signs the animal had. For example, if the animal had respiratory difficulty, sample the lung.
- Don't worry about taking too many samples, too much is better than too little.
How should the samples be taken?
- Taking samples for culture should be the first thing done, in order to minimize contamination.
- Use a
clean knife when taking samples, especially samples submitted for culture.
The best way to ensure a clean knife is to soak it, and any other instruments
used, in alcohol for 5 to 10 minutes.
- If samples
of lung and intestine are needed, sample the lung first in order to
minimize contamination from the intestine.
- Always
use a sharp knife.
- If there
is a lot of organic material on the sample you may wash the surface
off with water.
- Refrigerate
- Rapid cooling of tissue and maintaining the tissue at a cold temperature
is necessary for culture of bacteria or viruses. If you do not have
access to refrigeration and the tissue can not be submitted within 24
hours, consider placing the tissue in an ice chest surrounded with ice.
- Send each
sample in separate labeled container/bag (Zip lock bags work well).
- Include
normal tissue adjacent to the lesion.
- For tissues
to be fixed, cut no more than 1 cm thick. (About the width of your little
finger.) Be sure to send in a couple of samples from each organ needed
for histology.
- Use 10% buffered formalin to fix the tissue for histology, tissues needed for bacterial or viral isolation should not be placed in formalin. Contact your veterinarian to obtain the 10% buffered formalin.
- The tissue should be fixed in the formalin at a 10:1 ratio of formalin to tissue for approximately 24 hours. The formalin can then be removed for the tissue to be shipped in a plastic jar or plastic bag. Be sure to double bag the tissue to prevent leakage.
- Tissues
sent in for culture need to be about 1 inch thick. When submitting intestines,
you should obtain a loop of bowel approximately 6 inches long. Click
on the bottom photo on this page to view a video of intestine sampling.
Be sure to obtain 2 to 3 samples from each organ needed for culture.
- Specialty
sampling - consult with your veterinarian. For example, if you suspect
neurological disease (blind staggering, head pressing, etc.…) save
the head for examination by your veterinarian or have the veterinarian
perform the necropsy.
Click the photo to the left to view how to sample intestine
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