Central nervous system diagnostics

Both antemortem and postmortem diagnostics for central nervous system disease are available. Cerebrospinal fluid will help determine if disease is bacterial, viral, parasitic, or degenerative in nature. In addition, it may help to rule out diseases outside the central nervous system like hypocalcemia, which may mimic disease within the CNS. In addition to CSF analysis, diagnostic imaging can also be helpful. Animal size and value will often dictate the utility and affordability of imaging modalities. Postmortem, we typically consider harvesting the brain for histopathology, culture, or specific assays or special staining.