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Home Rehabilitation Wildlife Care Medical Care Necropsies


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	Necropsies
	While necropsies are usually performed to gain medical or epidemiological information, they are sometimes performed for reasons pertaining to law enforcement. In the case of mass poisonings, cruelty or other illegal activities, examiners' findings are used to prosecute perpetrators of wildlife crime.

Discussion

Necropsy is the post mortem medical examination of the body and its internal organs. Its purpose is to determine cause of death or to study pathological changes.

When an animal or group of animals dies under mysterious circumstances or is suspected to have died from an infectious disease or mass poisoning, a veterinary pathologist (often one who works for a government agency or university) determines the cause of death. The body is thoroughly examined externally and internally, and samples are subjected to close scrutiny (e.g. microscopic examination).

Many rehabilitators choose to perform a gross necropsy when a death does not seem related to a reportable disease or mass event. The body and organs are examined while tissues and samples are not necessarily tested further. Through visual examination of animals, we can learn much about both normal anatomy and causes of death, relating observed symptoms to physical changes.

Necropsy classes are often given at rehabilitation conferences and seminars. To learn more about necropsy, choose one of the following topics.

Websites

Armed Forces Institute of Pathology

Scope: Gross Pathology of Zoo Animals: Michael Garner, DVM, DACVP
Online Volumes:
URL: http://www.afip.org/CLDavis/GrossCourse01/zoo.htm

Cornell University

Scope: Published on the Web by the College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, this database was produced by Dr. John M. King and is a collection of 35mm slide images of necropsy specimens that were taken over a 30 year period.
Online Volumes:
URL: http://w3.vet.cornell.edu/nst/

University of California Davis

Scope: Necropsy procedures for wild animals: carnivores, ungulates (including ruminants and equids), birds and reptiles.
Online Volumes:
URL: http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/whc/Necropsy/TOC.html

University of Florida

Scope: A tutuorial on avian necropsy techniques
Online Volumes:
URL: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VM009

Textbooks

The Beginner's Guide to Animal Autopsy:A Hands-In Approach to Zoology
by Steve Parker, Ron Shone (Illustrator), David West, Rob Shone (Illustrator)

Library Binding: 48 pages
Copper Beech Books
ISBN:0761307028

[see it at amazon.com]

Merck Veterinary Manual:
by Susan E. Aiello, Asa Mays (Editor), Merck, Co, Merial

Hardcover: 2305 pages
Merck & Co
ISBN:0911910298

[see it at amazon.com]

Necropsy Guide:Rodents and the Rabbit
by Donald B. Feldman, John Seely

Hardcover: 176 pages
CRC Press
ISBN:0849349346

[see it at amazon.com]

Necropsy:Procedures and Basic Diagnostic Methods for Practicing Veterinarians
by Albert C. Strafuss

Hardcover: 244 pages
Charles C Thomas Pub Ltd
ISBN:0398053758

[see it at amazon.com]