>I have a proposal for all the vets and vet techs on the list:
>
>I would like to make a series of microphotographs illustrating ferret
>red and white blood cells.  I also wish to beginning building a data
>different aged ferrets, whole v.  neutered ferrets, and ferrets suffering
>various illnesses...
 
Bob - I would strongly support this type of project from a number of
points, including some that you have brought up, including the need for
good photos of ferret blood cells (one of many things that I have not
gotten around to - but those are too numerous to count at this point.)
 
I would be happy to assist you in interpretation of values and case
materials, although we need to realize a few things going in - 1) this
should not be a substitute for a good diagnostic workup at a vet -
especially if the initial phase is looking solely at CBCs.  The idea here
is to look for previously unnoticed trends over a broad base of cases, not
to try to make diagnoses on individual cases where the clinician is having
a difficult time, and 2) these samples should be accompanied by all
supporting clinical data and history for independent evaluation.  This
would suggest that samples in which there is no clinical diagnosis should
be excluded, at least in the early phases of data collection.
 
The key here is that it must be viewed as research by the FHL participants
toward the long-term good of ferrets, and not as a diagnostic service.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams
[Posted in FML issue 3625]