* BLOOD TESTS

Blood vessels traverse through every single organ in the body, picking up information and small clues along the way about health and disease.

 

The small cells and molecules carried in blood are like travellers on a train. Some get off the train at stations, which in the body are like organs, such as the liver, kidneys or lymph glands. When the cells and molecules hop back on the blood train they carry information collected from their trip. Often they can’t collect all the information about their destination or organ, but they hop back on the train with many clues.

 

By sampling some of this precious blood we can analyse the different components of the cells and molecules. Doing this helps us to decipher which parts of the body are sick and what might be causing the problem.

 

When our furry friends are sick, blood can give us a huge amount of information about their health and well-being. Unfortunately blood tests can’t tell us everything about every possible ailment, but it’s a good start.

 

Sometimes blood tests can be extremely specific, such as the test for heartworm. One small drop and ten minutes is all it takes for a definitive diagnosis. At other times we may need to take several blood tests over time to diagnose a problem such as Cushing’s disease for example. Also, we may need to monitor a disease process rather than diagnose it, and blood can be useful for this too.

 

Sadly, impaired kidney function affects many older cats, but serial blood tests done with urinalysis can be extremely useful for monitoring the response to therapy and can help us to determine if the patient is likely to recover quickly or not.

 

So hopefully next time your veterinarian suggests that a blood test would be of benefit to help diagnose or monitor the health of your pet, you’re now armed with more knowledge of why and how analysing the components of the precious red stuff can be so helpful!