Veterinary Clinical Laboratory & Dilution Basics – Vocabulary

Flashcards covering key laboratory equipment, staining methods, quality control, urine and blood chemistry concepts, and dilution terminology from the lecture transcript.

Manual Expression

Technique of collecting urine by manually compressing the bladder.

Reabsorption

Movement of substances from renal tubules back into the bloodstream.

Creatinine

Nitrogenous waste product formed from muscle metabolism, excreted in urine.

Ketones

Acidic by-products of fat metabolism detectable in urine.

Bilirubin

Pigment produced from hemoglobin breakdown; can appear in urine with liver disease.

Cystocentesis (Cysto)

Percutaneous needle aspiration of urine directly from the bladder for a sterile sample.

Renal Threshold

Blood concentration point at which the kidneys begin excreting a substance (e.g., glucose 280-300 mg/dL in cats).

USG (Urine Specific Gravity)

Ratio that measures urine concentration compared with distilled water.

Griffin Beaker

Straight-sided, graduated beaker used for holding or mixing solutions; not volume-accurate.

Erlenmeyer Flask

Cone-shaped, graduated flask for holding or mixing solutions; not volume-accurate.

Volumetric Flask

High-quality glass flask with a single calibration line; accurate for one specific volume.

Graduated Cylinder

Tall, narrow cylinder with multiple graduations; reasonably accurate for measuring volume.

Cuvette

Thick-walled glass or plastic tube designed to hold samples inside a spectrophotometer.

Spectrophotometer

Instrument that quantifies analytes by measuring light absorbed/transmitted through a cuvette.

Pasture Pipette

Glass, non-graduated transfer pipette with a reusable rubber bulb; disposable glass stem.

Plastic Transfer Pipette

Disposable plastic pipette (often graduated) used only to transfer, not measure, liquids accurately.

Serological Pipette

Graduated glass pipette used with a bulb or pump; accurate for variable volumes; may be TC or TD.

Volumetric Pipette

High-quality glass pipette with a single calibration mark; delivers one exact volume very accurately.

Automatic/Micropipette

Precision pipette with disposable tips that measures small, fixed (micro-liter) volumes.

Graduated (Glassware)

Marked with measurement lines; indicates approximate volume but not necessarily high accuracy.

Meniscus

Curved surface of liquid in glassware; volume is read from the lowest point of the curve.

TC (To Contain)

Pipette marking indicating the pipette retains a small amount unless liquid is blown out.

TD (To Deliver)

Pipette marking indicating it delivers the full calibrated volume by simple drainage.

Microliter (µL)

One-millionth of a liter; 1,000 µL = 1 mL.

Refractometer

Handheld instrument that measures total protein or USG using light refraction.

Wet Chemistry Analyzer

Lab instrument that uses liquid reagents (e.g., spectrophotometer) for biochemical testing.

Dry Chemistry Analyzer

In-clinic machine that uses reagent slides or pads to run common blood chemistries.

Automated Hematology Analyzer

Machine that performs automated RBC, WBC, and platelet counts and basic indices.

Diff-Quick

Three-step, quick Romanowsky stain set used for cytology and blood films.

Gram Stain

Four-step bacterial stain that differentiates Gram-positive (purple) and Gram-negative (pink) organisms.

Lugol’s Iodine

Iodine solution used to highlight Giardia cysts or enhance fecal parasite identification.

Lactophenol Cotton Blue

Stain used to visualize fungal structures, especially molds.

Incubator

Heated chamber that maintains constant temperature for microbial culture growth.

Water Bath

Temperature-controlled water chamber used for procedures such as fibrinogen testing.

Quality Control (QC)

Systematic procedures to ensure laboratory test accuracy and precision.

Control Sample

Commercially prepared specimen with known values run to validate analyzer performance.

Shift (QC)

Sudden change in control values indicating possible instrument malfunction.

Trend (QC)

Gradual drift of control values signaling developing analyzer problems.

Maintenance Log

Record of calibration, repairs, part replacements, and QC results for each lab instrument.

10 % Formalin

Fixative (diluted formaldehyde) used to preserve tissue samples; volume should be 10× specimen volume.

Hemolysis

Rupture of red blood cells in a sample; can interfere with many chemistry results.

Lipemia

Excess lipid in serum/plasma causing turbidity; may affect analyzer readings.

Concentrate (Dilution)

Undiluted stock solution or sample being diluted in a dilution calculation.

Diluent

Liquid (e.g., water, saline) added to a concentrate to perform a dilution.

Simple Dilution

Reduction of concentration by mixing one part of concentrate with a specified number of parts diluent.

Parts Equation

Representation of a dilution: concentrate part + diluent parts = total parts (e.g., 1 + 4 = 5).

Effusion

Accumulation of fluid in a body cavity; collected into LTT for cytology and RTT for culture.