Your veterinarian uses laboratory tests to: identify changes in health condition of your pet/animal before any symptoms occur to diagnose a disease or condition before you have symptoms, plan the treatment of your pet/animal for a disease or condition, evaluate response to a treatment, or monitor the course of a disease over time.

After a sample is collected, it is analyzed in a laboratory. Laboratories perform tests on the sample to see if it reacts to different substances. Depending on the test, a reaction may mean your pet/animal do have a particular condition or it may mean that your pet/animal do not have the particular condition. Sometimes laboratories compare results to results obtained from previous tests, to see if there has been a change in condition.

Lab tests show whether or not results fall within normal ranges. Normal test values are usually given as a range, rather than as a specific number, because normal values vary from animal to animal or species to species. What is normal for one species not be normal for another species. Some laboratory tests are precise, reliable indicators of specific health problems, while others provide more general information that gives veterinarians clues to your pet/animal possible health problems. Information obtained from laboratory tests may help veterinarians decide whether other tests or procedures are needed to make a diagnosis or to develop or revise a previous treatment plan. All laboratory test results must be interpreted within the context of your pet/animal overall health and should be used along with other exams or tests.