Clinical Pathology of Donkeys and Mules

Erin L Goodrich; Erica Behling-Kelly

doi:10.1016/j.cveq.2019.08.002

Clinical Pathology of Donkeys and Mules

Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract. 2019 Dec;35(3):433-455. doi: 10.1016/j.cveq.2019.08.002.

Authors

Erin L Goodrich¹, Erica Behling-Kelly²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, A1-212 AHDC, 240 Farrier Road, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. Electronic address: elg25@cornell.edu.
² Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, S1-062 Schurman Hall, Tower Road, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.

PMID: 31672198
DOI: 10.1016/j.cveq.2019.08.002

Abstract

Given the stoic nature of donkeys and their hybrids, it is important to consider the significance of diagnostic testing modalities that can provide objective health status information beyond the basic physical examination findings. However, clinical pathology assays are also fraught with significant limitations because the results for donkeys, mules, and hinnies can be difficult to interpret, and transference of data from the horse is not always applicable. This article presents considerations for sample collection, storage, analysis, and interpretation strategies for clinical pathology testing of donkeys and their hybrids based on the limited information available in the literature.

Keywords: Chemistry; Clinical pathology; Donkey; Equid; Hemogram; Hinny; Mule.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Equidae*
Horse Diseases / pathology*
Horses
Pathology, Clinical