title: Evaluation of techniques for counting bovine platelets.
abstract: Visual and electronic techniques for counting bovine platelets were investigated. The reference method used was hemacytometer counting of platelets in whole blood diluted with 0.85% NaCl solution. A whole blood platelet-rich plasma technique was imprecise and inaccurate. Isopycnic centrifugation of blood diluted in 8.01% NaCl solution (same density as platelets) was a precise technique, but the whole blood platelet count was underestimated. The most precise and accurate technique investigated was unit gravity sedimentation of a 1:100 dilution of blood with 10 ml of Isoton followed by electronic counting of platelets in the supernatant. This technique correlated very well with visual counting of bovine platelets (N = 77, y = 55 + 0.80x, r = 0.89, P less than 0.01).
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001772:Blood Cell Count / Q000379:methods*; D001792:Blood Platelets; D001799:Blood Sedimentation; D002417:Cattle / Q000097:blood*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic