Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Techniques for Veterinary Technicians provides a comprehensive reference of laboratory procedures featuring ‘how-to’ information as it pertains to small animals, horses, and cattle.
- An inclusive reference on laboratory procedures pertaining to small animals, horses, and cattle
- Provides information on hematology, hemostasis, clinical chemistry, urinalysis, parasitology, and fecal testing
- Features high-quality photographs labelled with magnification and stain information, which clearly depict cellular morphology, inclusions, and infectious organisms
- Offers key objectives, technician tip boxes, case examples and a glossary of key terms
- A companion website provides images from the book for download, instructor questions and answer key to multiple choice questions in the book
Many thanks to Wiley-Blackwell for offering this review copy!
A lot of information is packed into this book’s 264 pages. Combining the clin path and lab techniques makes sense and provides a symbiotic relationship. The chapters are organized well and consist of learning objectives and key terms in the beginning, followed by case examples and some introductory paragraphs. The rest of the chapter is then in an outline form that is thorough and easy to follow. Highlighted boxes noted as “technician tips” provide valuable information through a Pearls of Practice format. Full color photos with information also provide another level of comprehension.
What makes this book stand out from the others is the case studies, complete with interpretation and comments to ensure that the technician understands what is happening.
Some chapters have multiple choice questions at the very end to further cement the objectives and make the technician think critically. Answers to the quiz and further questions can be found at http://www.wiley.com//legacy/wileychi/bager/.
Accurate results can only be gotten if the sample is prepared correctly; Chapter One – Getting Started covers proper ways to obtain and package blood, urine, and feces. Basic use of a centrifuge, microscope, stains, and blood tubes are also discussed, along with a section on laboratory safety.
Chapter Four – Clinical Chemistry explains how to prepare a sample for chemistry analysis, what normal and abnormal values are, and what the clinical significance is for those abnormal results. Chapter Five – Urinalysis does the same as Chapter Four but with urine.
The reason I mention both of those chapters is that I believe this will be an invaluable resource to any technician; because knowing the “why” is just as important as knowing the “how to”. The information is presented clearly and concisely, and technicians can refer to the chapters repeatedly to reinforce their knowledge.
Chapter Seven – Minimizing Laboratory Errors is the final, particularly important chapter. Errors in research are inevitable, but knowing how to properly plan and be aware of how they happened is an invaluable skill. QC and QA procedures are discussed, as well as the several types of errors.
Further reading sources are cited at the end of each chapter, and there is a glossary at the back of the book.
This first edition will be welcomed by those looking for a fresh aspect on clinical pathology. Want your own copy? You can pick it up here.
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