Anastasiia Lobas: How knowledge and skills in veterinary clinical biochemistry help diagnose animal diseases
Anastasiia Lobas: How knowledge and skills in veterinary clinical biochemistry help diagnose animal diseases
November 28, 2024
Clinical biochemistry is the basis of modern veterinary laboratory diagnostics, providing a deep understanding of the biochemical processes occurring in the body of animals. For future veterinarians, biochemistry is not only a source of knowledge about the functioning of the body, but also an indispensable tool for establishing an accurate diagnosis and developing effective treatment methods. In the laboratory classes, we performed a number of important biochemical studies that demonstrate the wide possibilities of this field of medicine.
Thanks to biochemical tests, veterinarians can examine in detail the condition of the liver, kidneys, heart, and other organs, as well as identify metabolic disorders. Biochemical tests allow not only to diagnose diseases, but also to monitor their course and the effectiveness of treatment. The study of biochemical syndromes helps to correctly identify symptoms, understand the causes of diseases, and create individualized treatment protocols. Performing biochemical experiments is not only useful and instructive, but also a very interesting activity, for example, in laboratory classes we studied ketone bodies in urine, which are a marker of fat and carbohydrate metabolism disorders, in particular, ketosis in ruminants and diabetes in dogs and cats. These bodies are formed due to increased breakdown of fats and serve as an important clinical indicator, as the accumulation of ketone bodies can lead to acidosis, a life-threatening condition. For this experiment, we used a rapid method - diagnostic indicator strips. With their help, students determined the concentration of ketone bodies in urine. The most interesting experiment was the Ross test, in which, after all the stages of the experiment, the contents of the test tube changed color to red-violet in a few minutes, indicating the presence of ketone bodies. Against the backdrop of this study, the teacher gave us an interesting opportunity to make a presumptive diagnosis and to justify our choice. This is a great training for doctors to analyze and argue their opinions.
One of the key experiments was to determine proteinuria, the presence of protein in the urine. Proteinuria is an important diagnostic criterion for kidney and cardiovascular diseases. We used both qualitative methods to confirm the presence of protein in the urine and quantitative methods to determine its specific content. This analysis is extremely important, as even minor abnormalities may indicate kidney dysfunction and require further investigation to confirm the diagnosis.
The study of hemoglobin content is also an important diagnostic method in the diagnosis of anemia and hemoglobinopathies. In practice, the students determined the level of hemoglobin in the blood, which allows them to assess the efficiency of oxygen transport in the body. Disorders of hemoglobin content or structure may indicate pathological conditions, including anemia and some hereditary hemoglobinopathies.
