Anemia, Dehydration and Allergic Responces

Anemia is a disease that is commonly seen in veterinary medicine. This disease can be described as having low amounts of red blood cells and a reduced amount of hemoglobin in the circulating blood, which reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. It develops from loss, destruction or lack of production of red blood cells. Anemia is usually a secondary disease caused by another disease or medical condition. There are three different types of anemia; regenerative, non-regenerative and relative.

In regenerative anemia, the bone marrow is responding to the anemia by increasing the erythrocyte or red blood cell production. This means that there will be an increase in immature red blood cells in the circulating blood. On a blood smear it is likely to notice nucleated red blood cells (nRBCs), polychromatophils, an increase in reticulocytes, and also Howell-Jolly bodies (HJ bodies). The cause of this type of anemia is usually hemorrhage or hemolysis. Since the bone marrow is responding, it is likely that the red cell mass will eventually return to normal once the bone marrow has produced enough red blood cells to make up for the significant loss. Since the patient has lost a substantial amount of blood, albumin and globulin levels are usually decreased. The mean corpuscular volume (MCV) of the animal is going to be increased during this time because of the fact that the reticulocytes are larger than mature erythrocytes. The mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) will be decreased. This is decreased as a result of the immature red blood cells, especially the reticulocytes, since they are larger cells that have less hemoglobin, because the bone marrow is trying to produce cells as quickly as possible, but due to that t...

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... the patient gets to ten percent dehydrated he or she will have sunken eyes, dry mucous membranes, a prolonged capillary refill time and a delayed skin tent. Anything past ten percent dehydration is usually fatal, the animal will become unresponsive and go into shock and eventually die.

Works Cited

ASPCA. (2014). Dehydration. Retrieved May 5, 2014. From http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/dehydration.

Hendrix, C. M., & Sirois, M. (2007). Laboratory procedures for veterinary technicians. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby Elsevier.

Summers, A. (2007). Common diseases of companion animals. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby.

Veterinary Medical Clinic. Anemia, canine and feline. Retrieved May 5, 2014. From http://www.vetmedclinic.com/?p=288.

Voigt, G. L., & Swist, S. L. (2011). Hematology techniques and concepts for veterinary technicians. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.