Canine Venipuncture - MLA

Canine Venipuncture “Ma’am, we need to draw blood and run some tests.” You have probably heard similar phrases when taking a sick pet to the veterinarian‘s office. Hearing this phrase with a sick pet, whom to you is your child, can be scary. Understanding the process of drawing blood gives a slight bit of comfort in this typically upsetting phrase. Taking blood samples is an important aspect of veterinary medicine. Many diseases are diagnosed based on serum biochemistry. As a veterinary technician, you must understand the process of drawing blood, known as venipuncture. In some situations, getting a blood sample must be done quickly and there may be a large amount of stress on you as a technician to do this. A useful method for obtaining a blood sample for the beginning veterinary technician is to draw it from the cephalic vein. I am going to explain the process of taking blood from a dog’s cephalic vein which is located in the canine’s forelimb, known as canine venipuncture. Canine venipuncture is a fairly simple process. When drawing a blood sample form the cephalic vein you will need several things on hand, including a veterinary assistant to restrain the animal. The supplies needed are a set of electric clippers, alcohol wipes, a syringe, a needle, lavender and marble top blood collection tubes, and vetwrap. The lavender top collection tubes are used for samples of whole blood, or plasma. The marble top tubes are for samples of serum - an amber, watery fluid, rich in proteins which separates out when blood coagulates.

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Knowing how to properly restrain a dog is a major part of collecting a blood sample. The person assisting, usually a veterinary assistant, will be the one in charge of restraining the animal while the veterinary technologist or technologist obtains the blood sample. The dog must be restrained so that taking the blood sample will not become a fight. This is for not only the veterinary personnel’s safety, but