Determination of Selected Avian Blood Plasma Chemistry Values Using the Technicon AutoAnalyzer;rM

Abstract AUTOMATION has improved the reliability of commonly-used clinical chemical determinations (Faulkner et al., 1968). In many experimental situations where a minor perturbation of a biological system is induced, accurate evaluation and interpretation of results often depend upon the accuracy and precision of the experimental laboratory values found. For comparative experimental purposes (Beljan et al., 1970), a literature search was conducted to develop a table of “normal” values for various chemical constituents of normal avian peripheral blood. Published values (Table 1) were found to vary widely with various authors, the methodology employed, the age and sex of the animal (Sturkie, 1965), and whether blood, plasma, or serum was utilized as a basis for analysis. Although several of the standard laboratory handbooks have been fairly re cently published (Altman and Dittmer, 1964; Long, 1961; Spector, 1956), the references cited in their source bibliographies are frequently quite old. Because of this fact, a…