• Hematology, coagulation, urinalysis, diagnostic cytology testing
• Blood banking

Samples received after 4 p.m. will be tested the next business day unless an afterhours fee is charged. In-clinic patient testing is available on Saturdays from  9 a.m. – noon, will only be preliminary. Send-in/research samples are not processed on holidays or weekends. After-hours fee will be assessed for samples submitted after 4 p.m.

Sample Submission

• Please include a completed Clinical Pathology requisition form. Include the veterinary clinic/veterinarian, address, and fax/telephone information.
• Patient information should include full name, age, sex, species/breed and history.
• All samples should be labeled with patient name.
• Date of blood draw or sample collection should be on the form.
• Samples should be received same day or shipped overnight on a cold pack, unless it is a slide cytology.
• Serum, plasma samples should be separated from the RBCs.
• An air-dried differential slide should be made if a CBC is ordered. The slide should be protected from freezing/heat exposure and should not be packaged with formalin fixed tissues.
• NOTE: Ideally, shipping over the weekend or a holiday is not optimal for sample integrity. It is best to avoid this unless necessary.
• Fluid cytologies, when possible, should have an air-dried direct slide made to preserve cellular integrity.
• Cytologies should include sample site or fluid type with description of the lesion and any relevant history.
• Cytology samples should not be packaged with formalin fixed tissues.
• For cytology submissions requiring additional information, please attach a second page, preferably typed.

Resubmit a Sample

Samples are received under the same accession number and are not charged an additional test fee unless there is an additional shipping charge. To resubmit samples, follow the original guidelines for submitting specimens. Samples cannot be resubmitted after 14 days.

Saving Samples

Samples submitted to the Clinical Pathology Lab are saved for one week in the refrigerator. If additional testing is desired during this time, please notify the laboratory to determine if there is enough volume and sample integrity to run the test. CSF serum titer samples are saved frozen fortwo months. CSF titer samples are refrigerated for two weeks. Slides for cytologies are kept for a minimum of three years.

Fee Information

In-clinic patients: Clinical Pathology services for in-house patients are charged to the patient account upon accessioning and are invoiced to the client at time of discharge. Any additional testing requested by the clinician on the case after discharge will be charged to the client and billed.

Send-in sample testing: There is no additional fee for send-in specimens. The Clinical Pathology laboratory cannot receive samples sent in by the owner without an attending veterinarian on the case. The test results and invoice will be given to the attending veterinarian. We can only give results to the attending veterinarian.

STAT requests include an additional fee and are not available for all tests.

All fees are subject to change. Please direct invoice and billing inquiries to the accounting department at 509-335-0816. For test pricing contact the Clinical Pathology laboratory at 509-335-0745.

Miscellaneous Fees

We welcome referral radiographic, MRI, CT, and ultrasound images which will be reviewed by faculty and residents.  

Requests received by 3:30 p.m. (PT) Monday through Friday will receive a verbal report by the end of the day and a finalized written report the following day. For emergency referral cases, please call 509-335-6980.

How to submit images

Electronic images may be submitted by email or by mail or directly to our server. If you have digital images (DICOM) please email radiology@vetmed.wsu.edu and a link will be sent with the connection information. After that it will be a one button send to submit your images to WSU.

Note: The date of a digital examination is imperative for image retrieval and an accurate history is greatly appreciated.

Diagnostic Imaging Referral Fees

There is no charge for recheck/follow-up studies of the same body part submitted within six months of the original submission.

Certain breeds of dogs and cats have a genetic predisposition that causes adverse reactions to commonly used medications. Collies, Australian shepherds, and long-haired whippets are some of the commonly affected breeds. 

WSU offers a test to determine if a dog or cat has the MDR1 gene mutation.

Please contact us at 509-335-0754 or wsuholter@vetmed.wsu.edu.

Our Holter service provides

• All necessary equipment and instructions for a 24-hour digital Holter monitor recording
• A full report with recommendations from a WSU board-certified veterinarian 
• Discounts on recheck Holter monitors for long-term care

Note: The Holter monitor report and recommendations will be provided to the ordering doctor unless communicated otherwise. Please note that the report will often have treatment recommendations. We can prescribe medication if the patient was seen by WSU Cardiology within the last 12 months. Medication refills can also be arranged with the local veterinary team.

Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL)

• Bacteriology, histopathology, serology, mycology, necropsy, toxicology, parasitology, molecular diagnostics and virology testing