ABSTRACT
Medical history and physical examination of the patient help practitoners indentify the major concerns of the owner related to the patient’s illness. Preoperative thoracic radiography, electrocardiography, and echocardiography help evaluate the patient’s cardiopulmonary functions. Perioperative body fluid testing, including blood work, urine analysis, and other body secretions, helps practitioners verify/identify a deficit associated with a specific systemic dysfunction. These laboratory tests also help practitioners to formulate/modify anesthetic protocols and anesthetic management perioperatively. This chapter provides a quick reference and interpretation regarding body fluid testing that may have an impact on the anesthetic management of patients undergoing both diagnostic or surgical procedures.
