Lakewood Animal Health Center -- providing special veterinary care for special pets in Lee's Summit, Missouri and surrounding areas.

history of Lakewood Animal Health Center

Philosophy of Lakewood Animal Health Center

Veterinarians at Lakewood Animal Health Center

The staff at Lakewood Animal Health Center

Fecal Centrifugation
At Lakewood Animal Health Center, we have made a change in order to better serve the health and well being of your pet and your family. We recommend that dogs and cats have a fecal test yearly to check for evidence of parasites such as Roundworm, Hookworm, Whipworm, and Tapeworm eggs. We can also find the parasitic protozoa Coccidia, and sometimes Giardia.

We have previously used a technique called fecal flotation whereas a fecal sample is mixed with a zinc sulfate solute. This solute is more dense than parasitic eggs and protozoa, and thus allowing them to float to the top of a fecal container and adhere to a microscope slide. This technique has proven to not be as effective as fecal centrifugation.

Fecal centrifugation is currently the best method to extract all of the eggs and protozoa out of a stool sample. The sample is put in a test tube and mixed with a sugar solution, a slide is put on top, and the sample is put in a centrifuge and spun at a very high velocity for about 10 minutes. The eggs and protozoa rise to the top of the test tube and adhere to the slide. This slide is then read under a microscope.

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