But quick question — in your workflow, how do you decide when to stop at in-house cytology versus submit for histopathology on sub-centimeter canine skin nodules? I’m reviewing last week’s accessions and noticing low cellularity and heavy blood background on some 25G FNAs, which makes same-day prelims feel shaky, and I’d appreciate how others balance turnaround time with the need for definitive margins and tumor grading.
If I get a ‘25G’ pass with heavy blood, I switch to a 22G and use non-aspiration capillary technique with a heparinized needle; if two slides are still low-cellularity, I pivot to a 4 mm punch for histo the same day. Only caveat: if it looks like an MCT, I’ll give it one more pass because they usually exfoliate well. Do you have quick Diff-Quik to check adequacy before deciding?
I switch to a 4 mm punch after two nondiagnostic FNAs; do a line-concentration smear first, unless classic lipoma — https://www.merckvetmanual.com/diagnostic-procedures/cytology-and-fine-needle-aspiration.
FWC’s venomous reptile handling class plus a Justice Clearinghouse legal module got me approved for the 6 hours; it covered “permit verification, lawful seizure/transport,” and I did the 72-inch pole/bite shield practice in-house. Small caveat: CR82 is the reinforced dog crate spec — use the primate section in IATA LAR instead (, the CR numbering drives me nuts): IATA - Live Animals Regulations (LAR).