So Necropsies...

[Kara31191]

Are super fun. Yesterday, the doc had me stay to help her with a bird necropsy. Well, I did and I got an intense two hour anatomy lesson. 🙂 Just me and the doc.

We went through an umbrella cockatoo and tried to figure out if it had choked. We went right down the trachea and cut it from right where the crop was all the way down lower. It was simply the most amazing thing. I loved seeing the rings that went all the way down, and created the most rigid structure in the whole body. It was amazing.

Then we went right down to the airsacs. I never realized how delicate they were. I was looking and we found some food the bird had aspirated at some point in her life. We dissected the heart, looking for a problem... And we looked at the lungs. The heart was hemoraged due to us trying to get the bird's heart going again when she died. It was the saddest thing I think I've ever seen that day. But the necropsy was hands down better than any surgery I've seen.

Still, the trachea was the coolest.

And she got out some instruments and taught me how to suture. That was super fun.

What kind of a high schooler am I anyways? I like looking through a dead animal, well okay then.

Next year we get to dissect cat's and I can't wait to see it and compare. I'm writing a detailed page on what I saw so I'll remember what to look for in the cat next year in anatomy and physiology.

😀 Dissections are SO COOL!

I haven't really heard of anyone wanting one on their cat or dog. Does that happen often?

Thanks for listening. I just had to share.
-Kara

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[msmrtrthnyllb]

I haven't really heard of anyone wanting one on their cat or dog. Does that happen often?

I work at a small animal/avian/exotic/wildlife hospital, and I'd say we do many more dog and cat necropsies than avian.

 

[Kara31191]

I work at a small animal/avian/exotic/wildlife hospital, and I'd say we do many more dog and cat necropsies than avian.

I wonder why we don't. I asked her and she said that she has to do them once in a while. I wonder what the difference is. I've never heard her say that she has to do that on a cat/dog.

We're only a small clinic and at least 1/3 of the patients are avian.

 

[pupsforseeing]

I work at a specialty/teaching hospital that sees only dogs and cats. We do quite a few necropsies. Sometimes it is at the owner's request, but often the owner will allow the interns to do a necropsy solely for their own learning purposes. I've gotten to see some really neat stuff from watching them.

 

[Kylana]

Oh I agree with you that necropsies are very cool! I have never seen a bird, but I've seen a pig, harbour seal and a couple of river otters! I was actually so interested that I was going to go shadow a pathologist last summer for a day, but he cancelled at the last minute because of some sort of family crisis 🙁

 

[critterfixer]

What GREAT experiences you are getting, Kara! The veterinarian you are working for sounds awesome.

The strangest thing I've ever seen on necropsy was a cat's trachea that was completely and totally impacted with a solid mass of hair. The poor cat asphyxiated on his own hair. 🙁

Did the vet determine the cause of the bird's death?

 

[PrimalMU]

Last summer while working at a clinic we had the corpse of a dog that we were keeping because there was a chance we would need to send the head off to a lab to be checked for rabies. One of the doctors and one of the techs started half-joking around with me telling me that, as the new guy, it would be my job to decapitate the dog. I think they were just trying to psych me out, but by the end of the day I was excited about it.

I also feel cheated because, in my 4 years of HS and 4 years of college, I've yet to get the opportunity to dissect something. Hopefully I'll get a chance later this semester to dissect something for my parasitology class.

 

[wi girl]

I also feel cheated because, in my 4 years of HS and 4 years of college, I've yet to get the opportunity to dissect something. Hopefully I'll get a chance later this semester to dissect something for my parasitology class.

I would feel cheated too! I have to admit, there is something strangely interesting about cutting things open .... I've been really lucky and been able to dissect:
grasshopper
fish
pig
grass frog
bull frog
rat
mouse
rabbit
sheep.

And that was all just in one class (experimental animal physiology). We had to isolate whatever organ we were using for the experiments, so that meant finding the sciatic nerve, or the heart or the uterus or ... whatever. VERY cool class. I TAed it, so I got to do it all twice! 😀

 

[PrimalMU]

I would feel cheated too! I have to admit, there is something strangely interesting about cutting things open .... I've been really lucky and been able to dissect:
grasshopper
fish
pig
grass frog
bull frog
rat
mouse
rabbit
sheep.

And that was all just in one class (experimental animal physiology). We had to isolate whatever organ we were using for the experiments, so that meant finding the sciatic nerve, or the heart or the uterus or ... whatever. VERY cool class. I TAed it, so I got to do it all twice! 😀

Ah, I'm jealous!

 

[SillyFilly]

That's so cool, wigirl! There are so many classes I wish I could've/would've taken in undergrad.

I think my fav dissection was fresh cow uteruses and fresh mammaries - the mammaries smelled so bad! I TAed the class too, so I got to do it twice. We also had to milk them (off the body) in the rain, it was pretty nasty - milk, blood, and rainwater...

Tasty 😉

 

[david594]

Got to do a necropsy on a lab in the fall. Much more interesting than the rat dissection in bio class, the size of everything and being able to actually palpate the organs was awesome. Animal was coming in for x-rays of a mass on its leg and died unexpectedly on the way in.

Necropsy revealed metastatic lung tumors.

 

[mistifical]

Necropsies are my favorite 😀

Wrote about them in my PS. At the clinic I work for I'd say that we do a lot more exotic necropsies than dog/cat (I've seen a few birds, hedgehogs, snakes, lizards, rabbits, guinea pigs, and I had them do my sugar glider --didn't need to watch). I've seen a few dog or cat necropsies, but most of the time when owners really feel the need to know the cause of death, they have the cadaver dropped off at the path department at a major research university in the area (where I happen to work full time). Here the pathologists necropsy any research animals and also animals from the aquarium and zoo and from local clinics. FUN!

 

[Kara31191]

Strange thing today.

I went into work and there was another necropsy on a bird to do. I think it's cool, but the other teenager was wicked grossed out!

It was really sad because the owners of this NINE month old blue crown conure used orange glow cleaner. We found that the airsacs were thickened, there was a lot of discharge, and the beak was in like a "lock jaw" think. Turns out the cleaner they used probably killed the bird.

My vet is going for board certification and she was telling me all of the names of everything she just studied. I certainly don't remember ANY of the names of the air sacs, but oh well.

The one the other day was SAD. The people came in- not exactly sober. The bird died from some sort of toxin, from the looks of it. Probably ended with the heart attack. That was really sad also.

Next year, we get to disect an eye of some sort, a cat, and a pig. I can't wait.

 

[CloudlessNights]

I volunteer in the medical center of an aquarium, and although most of the necropsies I've observed are fish or turtles, I got to assist in the necropsy of a Giant Pacific Octopus last week. Man was that cool! 🙂

 

[Whyevernot55]

My first necropsy (I'm not counting dissections in school) was on a horse. A Belgian mare, actually, so if you want SUPERSIZED anatomy, that's the way to go. And that's when I decided I wanted to go to vet school.

I've never done a full one on cats and dogs, but I've done decaps on both.

 

[thereservoirdog]

Lucky you, I've been working full time at a hospital for over a year and haven't even seen a necropsy yet.

 

[HopefulAg]

Have only been part of two necropsies while working full-time at a clinic. One was on a big ol' lab and it had a MASSIVE spleen! Sucker was at least 5x the size it was supposed to be. Vet thought it was the liver at first and went "well that's not supposed to be there."

Second one was on another lab that dropped dead suddenly. Had some kind of fungus in its lungs.

 

[jpeterman13]

Second one was on another lab that dropped dead suddenly. Had some kind of fungus in its lungs.

was it blastomycosis? I didn't get to see a necropsy, but this summer, the vet that I worked with made a specific point to call me down and show me a radiograph of a dog with blasto. I guess it's pretty rare in MI. But I did get to see a necropsy of a pitbull with heartworm disease.

 

[cowgirla]

Agreed, necropsies are awesome!

Ive see 1 llama, 2 alpacas (one of them was pregnant...that was a really interesting one), a couple goats and sheep, and countless dogs and cats.

I almost had the chance to do a baby buffalo but they decided to send it to the local university instead 🙁

Dissecting things is almost as cool...years ago, our vet "butchered" a horse, and we were able to dissect the legs, and look at all the tendons and joints and everything. That was pretty cool. What was not so cool--finding said body parts including the head, in the freezer, three years later when said vet retired. Apparently no one ever got around to telling the crematorium "oh yeah, those clear bags on the bottom need to go too" Gross!

 

[HopefulAg]

was it blastomycosis?

You know I really don't remember. For some reason that name does ring a bell but maybe only because you just said it...

 

[eventualeventer]

Yay necropsies! I got to do a necropsy on a pigeon for a Wildlife Diseases class (found Aspergillus pneumonia), and you're right, the air sacs are amazingly delicate.

Other than that, I've only ever seen horse necropsies, usually for colics that didn't go to surgery. One case, though, that really stands out is a young horse (2 or 3) who had started acting colicky and was put on fluids overnight. When they ultrasounded him the next morning, they saw tons of fluid in his abdomen with floating hyperechoic "stuff". When we euthed him and opened him up, there was something like 30 liters of serosanguinous fluid in his abdomen. His abdomen was riddled with hundreds of white tumors from diaphragm to pelvis, and the worst tumors were back near his scrotum. One of the vets involved said that it probably would have been written off as lymphoma by most people looking at it grossly, but they sent it off for histopath. I don't remember what cell type it ended up being, but it was something weird (stem cell? something undifferentiated), NOT lymphoma.

One of the senior clinicians at my current job dissected the leg of a horse with a really bad tendon sheath infection they euthed to show the residents and students the difference between the normal leg and the bad one. The infected area was all yellow and full of fibrin; he said it was already starting to form adhesions and the horse had virtually no chance of being pasture sound. The flexor tendons and suspensory ligaments of a horse are truly amazing to look at, though -- huge cables of fibers that have to support the full weight of the horse 24/7!

There was one mare and foal pair that didn't make it -- they tried to hoist her under anesthesia and deliver that way, then did a fetotomy but the foal's muscles and tendons were so contracted they couldn't get it out even after removing the lower 2/3rds of its front limbs -- the elbow and shoulder wouldn't extend to get the nubs out of the way. After they euthanized the mare (c-section not an option), I got to stick my arm in her vagina and feel the (decapitated) foal. The vet said, "That's not normal anatomy." Right, got it. Then, we cut her open and took out the foal. So sad.

Sorry I'm rambling. Necropsies are cool, and I haven't seen any in a while.

 

[david594]

was it blastomycosis? I didn't get to see a necropsy, but this summer, the vet that I worked with made a specific point to call me down and show me a radiograph of a dog with blasto. I guess it's pretty rare in MI. But I did get to see a necropsy of a pitbull with heartworm disease.

Blastomycosis is very common in the Ohio region. Apparently also in the Mississippi River Valley and the Southeast US. Not so much for the rest of the country.

 

[168135]

That sounds sooo awesome!!!

This semester, we get to dissect roadkill in Parasitology. I avoided doing the frog, fetal pig, sheep eye and worm because I don't agree with how the company gets their animals. I'm pretty excited.

 

[twelvetigers]

I observed a cow necropsy once - it was a little, er... past its prime, so to speak. Very stinky. Also, a couple beavers, a cat... and I got to hack around on a dead coyote myself. Not that I couldn't do that on my own time... but that's just weird. And I digress. The cow was by far the neatest. Man, the size of those things they had to use to crack the ribs... I think I use something similar to trim tree branches. 🙂

Side note, seeing all the now inactive members further up in this thread makes me 🙁. I miss sillyfilly. *pout*

 

[HopefulAg]

I avoided doing the frog, fetal pig, sheep eye and worm because I don't agree with how the company gets their animals.

Sheep's eyes are awesome. They bounce!

 

[Bearby]

Lucky you, I've been working full time at a hospital for over a year and haven't even seen a necropsy yet.

I've been working in small animal clinics for 3 years and haven't seen any necropsies at work. I have, however, done a few in school. I've done a cow eye, the repro tracts of lots of livestock, a frog, and a shark. I really enjoy the dissection and seeing how everything really looks in the body. A lot of the time in pets either it was due to old age or a long-term deterioration of the pet or it was young and crashed suddenly but the people are so torn up about it that they don't want to be asked about allowing us to dissect their pet to find out what happened.

 

[No Imagination]

My first necropsy experience was on a 85lb rottie that was left outside on a porch for 2 days (during a NYC heatwave). When we opened him up I immediately vomited non-stop for 10 minutes. Ended up going outside, regained my composure and came back with a close pin on my nose, mouth breathing. The vet understood completely (don't think she expected me back so soon), and to her credit went on with the necropsy, not even bothered by the smell.

Don't remember the cause of death, don't care. Don't leave you animal in the damn sun for 2 days if you want a necropsy!

 

[sofficat]

I love your enthusiasm, Kara! How exciting!! And what a great vet to let you participate in that!!

Necropsies aren't done nearly as often as they should be done in private practice. I think it comes down to time. Vets just don't have enough time to put into dissecting every patient that dies, or they can't justify it because clients will rarely pay for it. One of our vet professors has said time and time again "And when your patient dies, you'll do a necropsy, because great vets know how important it is to do a necropsy on every patient that dies in their care" (he is a pathologist- go figure 😳)
This summer I tried to do a necropsy on every wildlife patient that died. It was pretty cool!

 

[Pomegranate]

I used to work at a pathology lab for almost 4 years. I got to do the normal cow, horse (lots of horses since we have a contract with the CHRB), all kinds of birds from humming birds to hyacinth macaws to ostiches, lots of llamas and alpacas, dogs and cats, but the best were the exotics. I did two full grown elephants asian and african, a giraffe, lots of mountain lions and bob cats, a couple bears, a tiger, guanaco (sp?), antelope, ibex, etc. I had the most amazing time working there. I was the best at anatomy at my school because of it and the Drs even taught me some histology, so by the time I took the class I was awesome at it.

If you loved the necropsy try as hard as you can to volunteer or work at a pathology lab. Seriously the most amazing experiences of my life!!

 

[BlacKAT33]

I did two full grown elephants asian and african, a giraffe, lots of mountain lions and bob cats, a couple bears, a tiger, guanaco (sp?), antelope, ibex, etc.

OMG that is crazy!! where was this pathology lab? i mean, i don't think my college or current work institute would be bringing in elephants and giraffes. Was this at a zoo? Do tell, please!

 

[Myotis]

Necropsies are awesome! I haven't seen many though. I've seen a dog necropsy, and the end result of a cat necropsy, the owner brought the cat in dead and had now idea how it died, so it was a hard core necropsy, with tissues taken from every organ. I never did find out what happened to the cat, but it was definitely intense. I was also able to crash the wildlife diseases lab at my school (I can't wait to take the class! But my advisor teaches the class, so he let me crash it) and I got to see a deer, and opossum, and and porcupine. In addition to looking at all sorts of intestinal parasites under a microscope. Super awesome!

 

[jpeterman13]

I avoided doing the frog, fetal pig, sheep eye and worm because I don't agree with how the company gets their animals. I'm pretty excited.

Sheeps eyes are cool. I've been able to dissect a ton of different eyes. Rats (about 8 eyes/week for almost 3 years), quite a few rabbit eyes, only 1 sheep eye, a deer eye (taken from a deer that my dad got while hunting, I figured I shouldn't let it go to waste), and actually a human eye. So, I know my way around an eye...hence my obsession with them.

 

[Jochebed]

a deer eye (taken from a deer that my dad got while hunting, I figured I shouldn't let it go to waste)

The optic nerve of the deer eye is way cool! Very different from other species - all long and stretched out. Our prof showed us pics of one in ophtho last semester. 🙂

 

[twelvetigers]

Oh, hey joche! Long time no see! How's the little one?

 

[Jochebed]

Oh, hey joche! Long time no see! How's the little one?

Sick 🙁

He's all snotty and gross and clingy...poor guy. But we made it until 5 1/2 months without him getting sick so I'm glad of that.

Otherwise great though - laughing, smiling, sitting up. He has 2 teeth too! (slightly freakishly early).

I've definitely been MIA for a while. It's a tricky thing balancing life right now, but I love it. Everybody needs one of these things, on your own schedule or whatever, but at least one. Birth was incredible and mommyhood is wonderful. 🙂

 

[GSDgirl]

I'm loving this thread! I actually became interested in vet med while working under a pathologist at UW-Madison. Our case load was AMAZING! Typical lab species (mice, rats, rabbits), primates, livestock, horses, exotics (including species from the Milwaukee Zoo! I was lucky enough to assist on necropsies on an elephant, rhino, penguins, bats, kangaroos, black bears, you name it!) Although I am not sure that I will pursue a PhD after vet med, my experiences in pathology (and necropsy) mean a lot to me. I definitely learned a lot, and have tons of unforgetable experiences. (I will never forget walking 2 miles home because I was too embarrassed to ride the bus because I had rumen contents in my hair... Long story, but still memorable...) Anyone with the opportunity for necropsy experience--I would HIGHLY recommend it. If your're at UW-Madison, and have a year or two before graduation, I would look for a job at the RARC (Research Animal Resources Center). Best years of my undergrad!

 

[Pomegranate]

OMG that is crazy!! where was this pathology lab? i mean, i don't think my college or current work institute would be bringing in elephants and giraffes. Was this at a zoo? Do tell, please!

I worked and now volunteer on one of my weekend days at the California Animal Health and Food Safety lab (CAFHS) it's run by UCDavis but it's in San Bernardino. There are four labs throughout the state, but I think the San B lab gets the most exotic animals. We do necropsies for the surrounding zoos including the LA Zoo. The two elephants I got to work on were from a sanctuary and the bears, mountain lions, and bob cats were all wild from the forest service. I have tons of pictures but I'm not allowed to publish them or else I'd post them everywhere

 

[flyhi]

Side note, seeing all the now inactive members further up in this thread makes me 🙁.

i was just thinking the same thing! i saw pupsforseeing and thought, 'she's back'.....not so much 😡

 

[twelvetigers]

Yeah, it's sad to see an old post and realize that you haven't heard from such-and-such in a year... but, people get busy, and vet school obviously takes priority over SDN.

I promise to stick around, and to post at least once a week. I think I could manage that. Also, if any of you regulars want to add me on FB, just send me a message. 🙂

 

[scb44f]

It probably is nice to see some familiar faces again. Twelvetigers, I'm sure you'll be held to that promise by many people here.

On the original topic though, I experienced my first necropsy today. It was on a cat, and was a good first experience since the body was fresh. Hopefully I get to see more as I gain experience!

 

[guardian17]

I LOVE necropsies and dissections!!!! I worked at a military vet clinic for 2 years and we didn't get to see too many necropsies. But there were two that stand out in my memory:

The first was a military working dog. It was a 7 yr old German shepherd that was euthanized after being diagnosed with cancer. All military working dogs have necropsies regardless of reason for death. When this dog was opened up it was covered with tumors on the inside ranging from pea size up to golf ball size. The necropsy went on for about 7 hrs because they have to take tissue from all over the body and send it off for testing. Then they had to box up and send in parts of the body for testing. This is routine for working dogs. The medical side of it was awesome, but on the other hand, this was a working dog that served time for its country not only here in the states, but also overseas. There were handlers that were devastated over this dog’s death. It would have been nice to have a body to properly bury or cremate.

The second necropsy was a dog that was attacked by two other dogs. The military police found the dog in a creek already deceased. They needed us to determine if the dog died from the bite wounds and collapsed in the creek after dying; or if it collapsed in the creek still alive and died from drowning in the creek. This was extremely interesting and I'm so glad I was able to see this. The vet concluded that it drowned because there was a significant amount of water in the lungs. Although it was near death and would have very quickly died anyway because there was a great deal of blood loss and the femoral artery had been severed. She said it was hard to come up with a definitive answer because she can't see how the dog made it as far as it did with all the bite wounds and the artery severed.