Chemistry

Glucose is derived from digestion of dietary carbohydrates, breakdown of glycogen in the liver (glycogenolysis, this provides stores for maintaining glucose in blood during fasting or food-deprived states – until stores get depleted, of course, then gluconeogenesis takes over) and production of glucose from amino acid precursors in the liver (gluconeogenesis). Note that the kidney […]

Iron concentrations are measured as a way to assess iron stores in the body. However serum or plasma iron is not a good marker of body iron stores. This is because iron concentrations in blood change rapidly because iron is turned over constantly (frequently enters and exits cells) during normal metabolism and is strongly influenced by

There are several other tests that can be used to assess iron stores. These are not frequently performed because they are invasive (e.g. bone marrow aspirate, hepatic biopsy) or are not routinely offered by diagnostic laboratories, being mostly used in a research setting (reticulocyte indices). Bone marrow aspirates In the absence of hepatic iron, bone

Percentage saturation of transferrin (Tf) with iron is a test provided as part of the iron panel. It is a simple calculation based on the iron and TIBC.  % saturation of Tf = [iron ÷ TIBC] x 100 In health, roughly 33% of the circulating iron binding sites are occupied, although the actual range (or reference

For clinical purposes, total iron binding capacity (TIBC) is considered as a measure of transferrin (Tf) concentration in serum or plasma (albeit indirect). Normally, about 1/3 of transferrin (33%) has iron bound to it. There are more direct methods of measuring transferrin, i.e. immunologic-based techniques, but these are not available in veterinary medicine. Studies in

Serum activity of amylase and lipase is measured as an (imperfect) aid to the clinical diagnosis of pancreatic injury. The activity assays have been largely replaced by measurement of immunoreactivity for pancreatic lipase. Idiopathic inflammatory disease (acute-to-chronic pancreatitis) is the most common disease entity (mainly dogs, occasionally cats, rarely, horses). Less commonly, pancreatic tumors (adenocarcinoma)

Utilization of energy involves the metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids.  Normally, carbohydrate metabolism dominates, but in states of negative energy balance, lipid metabolism becomes dominant. Carbohydrate metabolism: This involves the production, breakdown and use of carbohydrates within organisms. The most important product of carbohydrate metabolism is glucose, the principal source of energy for cells. It is only

In this section, we will cover the following liver topics: Physiology: Structure and function of the liver. Routine laboratory testing in liver disease: Assessment of liver disease requires the interpretation of clinical pathology data reflecting the state of the liver. This data comes from results of chemistry testing, but also hemogram and urinalysis results (i.e.

The kidneys are part of the urinary system and perform many different functions for the body. They include filtration and elimination of metabolic wastes, regulation of of water and electrolyte balance and conservation of nutrients such as glucose and amino acids. We assess renal function using chemistry results which indicate glomerular function via measurement of

Proteins account for a large amount of the dissolved substances in plasma/serum. These proteins are a very heterogenous group of over a thousand individual proteins, with a variety of functions including maintenance of oncotic pressure, transportation of substances, coagulation, etc. In this section, we will cover the following: Laboratory indicators of protein disorders: total protein and albumin are