Dogs Blood Chemistry

Specially with Geriatric dogs Blood Chemistry can be a usefull tool to evaluate our friends health heres a few hints to better understand it:

Glucose – increased levels typically associated with diabetes while low levels may occur with liver disease or cancer
Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) – a by-product of protein degradation that eliminated by the kidneys; high levels can indicate dehydration or kidney disease.
Creatinine – a by-product that is eliminated by the kidneys; becomes elevated with dehydration, kidney disease, and urinary tract obstruction.

Total Protein – Albumin plus globulin; elevated with dehydration, infections, and cancer; low with liver, kidney, or intestinal disease proteins found in the blood and created by the liver; liver, kidney, and intestinal disease can cause low levels
Total Bilirubin – by-product of hemoglobin degradation and found within bile; elevations occur with destruction of red blood cells and bile duct/gall bladder disease and well as liver disease.
ALT and AST - livers enzyme that can become elevated if the liver is injured or diseased
Alkaline Phosphatase (ALKP) an enzyme found in bone, liver, and bile duct tissues; Cushing’s disease, liver disease, as well as other conditions could cause mild to significant elevations levels may be elevated with
pancreatic disease
Calcium – increased levels could occur with certain types of tumors and kidney disease
Phosphorus – may become elevated with kidney disease
Sodium (Na+), Potassium (K+), and Chloride (Cl -) – electrolyte levels could become abnormally low or high due to vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, as well as other illnesses
Globulin – elevated with cancer and infections
Albumin (ALB) – one of the main proteins found in the blood and created by the liver; liver, kidney,
and intestinal disease can cause low levels
Amylase and Lipase – enzymes produced by the pancreas whose decrease with other illnesses as

well; further evaluation may be required to assess thyroid gland function using the Free T4 and TSH tests
Complete Blood Count (CBC):
Hematocrit – the percentage of red blood cells (RBCs) compared with fluid and other cells in the blood stream; low levels (anemia) may indicate blood loss, destruction of RBCs, or inadequate production

White Blood Cells (WBCs) – elevated with infection, inflammation, and cancer; white blood cells include lymphocytes, neutrophils, bands (immature neutrophils), monocytes, eosinophils, and basophils

Platelets – low levels indicate increased loss or failure to produce platelets; can cause bleeding problems if too low decrease with other illnesses as well; further evaluation may be required to assess thyroid gland function using the Free T4 and TSH tests

Thyroid Evaluation:

T4 (thyroxine) – produced by the thyroid gland; low levels may indicate hypothyroidism but may