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As a histotechnologist, you know the vital role you play in the treatment of patients. However, you may think this only applies to human patients. It doesn’t. According to Kei Kuroki, DVM, PhD, DACVP, of the University of Missouri, histotechnologists also have an integral role in the practice of veterinary medicine—and he not only uses histologists to support his work as a diagnostic veterinary pathologist, but also for his research and teaching endeavors.
“Our histotechnologists are indispensable in our university and many people—pathologists, educators, and researchers—all count on our histotechnologists to provide best quality histology specimens for us,” Kuroki explained.
Diagnosing an Illness
Just as with human patients, histotechnologists use their knowledge and skills to help diagnose people’s beloved pets. Kuroki describes how in 2017, he worked on a case where a German shepherd puppy was taken to a veterinarian because of intermittent vomiting and diarrhea. The veterinarian suspected this was caused by an intestinal obstruction, so she took biopsies and forwarded them to Kuroki’s lab. Thanks to the work of histotechnologists, his team discovered that the dog had a small Echinococcus multilocularis tapeworm, which the dog developed after eating an infected rodent.
“If this veterinarian did not take a biopsy specimen, and there had been no histologic examination, there would have been no diagnosis or discovery,” said Kuroki.
Correcting a Misdiagnosis
Kuroki discusses the case of a two-year-old Golden Retriever that had developed a skin mass near its left eye. After the veterinarian had a biopsy performed, the initial diagnosis was cutaneous histiocytoma, which is a common round cell tumor in young dogs. However, the vet observed clinical behavior in the case that was inconsistent with this diagnosis. Kuroki’s team was enlisted to provide clarity on exactly what the dog was experiencing. After performing an H&E stain, the histotechnologists were able to get the correct answer.
“It was initially diagnosed as a benign round cell tumor, but histochemistry and immunochemistry conducted in our diagnostic laboratory led to the right diagnosis,” said Kuroki. “It was a poorly differentiated high-grade mast cell tumor. Immunochemistry and the histochemistry are vital tools for pathologists.”
Informing Treatment
The last thing a pet owner wants to hear is that their beloved fur baby has to have a leg amputated. However, this is the sad fate of dogs that suffer from osteosarcoma, which is one of the most malignant types of tumors that develop in canines. As hard as this can be for animal lovers to deal with, it's especially heartbreaking if this happens when it doesn't need to.
Thanks to the knowledge and skills of histotechnologists, some dogs are spared from this extreme treatment option. Although veterinarians often rely on radiographic examinations to confirm an osteosarcoma diagnosis and the need for an amputation, Kuroki says that it's much better to take a needle biopsy specimen since histodiagnosis is considered the gold standard.
“Many veterinary clinicians rely on histologic diagnosis to decide their treatment options,” he said.
Histotechnologists are essential contributors to veterinary medicine, playing a critical role in accurate diagnoses, guiding effective treatments, and even correcting misdiagnoses that could otherwise lead to unnecessary or harmful interventions. As Dr. Kei Kuroki’s cases highlight, behind every successful diagnosis and research breakthrough is the meticulous work of a skilled histotechnologist. Whether working with pathologists, educators, or researchers, their expertise ensures that both beloved pets and advancing science benefit from precise and reliable histological analysis. To get more information about the role that histologists play in veterinary medicine, check out the NSH “Histology in Veterinary Pathology” webinar.
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