So on Friday we heartworm tested a dog, and on Saturday I expected the results but they hadn't been faxed. They didn't show up at all Saturday, but the results were waiting for me on Sunday. For what they were worth-

Danny Boy:    Coonhound.   Results: Positive.
This sample has been retested. The blood sample was markedly hemolyzed, and markedly hemolyzed blood samples have been known to cause false positives. Resubmission recommended.


The "Resubmission recommended" part was all well and good, he needed to be retested. But I wanted to know what they were talking about, because I'm just weird that way.  I know that Hemo means blood but the "lyzed" part lost me.

Dictionary.com Definition-
To undergo or cause to undergo hemolysis.

Oh well, gee. That helped.

But then I looked up hemolysis and was made to understand that it is essentially the destruction of red blood cells. Therefore,  what the lab meant was that somehow Danny Boy's blood cells had been destroyed somewhat and could not be tested accurately. This could have happened when we drew the blood from the vein, because we had some trouble with the vein, or the vial could have been shaken somehow. So now I think I understand and I feel better about life, generally. 

So if all of this was obvious to you in the beginning, be polite and don't say so. I have educated moments, and markedly uneducated moments. This one was the latter.





Poll #782753
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Should Kristin Go to Vet School?