Diagnostics - Vet in Mercer Island | Island Animal Hospital

Knowledge is Power

Better diagnostics means better medicine.

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A comprehensive physical exam is a great way to assess your pet’s overall health, however, diagnostic testing provides a more in-depth evaluation. Based on exam findings, we can recommend various diagnostic tests designed to pinpoint health issues and their causes. Diagnostic tests are also used to monitor your pet’s health status over time, and to detect disease in its earliest stages. Our in-house laboratory allows us to quickly provide answers about your pet’s health.

When your pet is ill or injured, every second matters. State-of-the-art laboratory equipment allows us to provide fast results—often in 20 minutes or less—even when running a full panel of tests. Common tests we perform include:

Blood work — A complete blood count (CBC) and blood chemistry profile are used to assess your pet’s organ function, clotting ability, electrolyte levels, and more. Blood work can also tell if your pet is anemic, has an infection or inflammation, or is dehydrated.
Parasite screening — Using blood and fecal samples, we can check to see if your pet has heartworms, tick-borne illnesses, or intestinal parasites.
Cytology — Looking at various samples under the microscope can tell us if your pet has an ear infection, mange, or a cancerous tumor.
Urinalysis — A urinalysis imparts information about how well your pet’s kidneys are functioning, or if they have a urinary tract infection or bladder stones.

In some cases, our veterinarians require answers from more advanced testing, and we turn to outside laboratories for results. The veterinary laboratories we partner with can typically provide next-day results, so we can begin treating your pet as soon as possible.

In-house laboratory

Diagnostic imaging

While blood work and other diagnostic tests give us a look at your pet’s internal health, diagnostic imaging gives us a much clearer “picture.” Digital radiography (i.e., X-ray) is useful for visualizing your pet’s internal structures, granting us a closer look at bones, joints, and organs. For greater detail, we may also use ultrasound to examine an organ, joint space, or body cavity. This imaging modality can be used to obtain tissue samples, confirm conditions that are difficult to diagnose through X-rays alone, and measure organs and tumors. When paired with laboratory tests, diagnostic imaging gives us the most complete picture of your pet’s health.

If your pet is not feeling well, contact us for an appointment. Leveraging our diagnostic capabilities, we will decipher the problem quickly, and help your pet on the road to recovery.

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