Several difficulties arise in the introduction of foetal blood sampling in a regional hospital. Ideally there should be a unit sufficient to provide continuous registrar cover (anaesthetic cover and medical cover) of the labour suite. In our hospital duties have been reallocated in an attempt to attain this standard. Both consultant and registrar staff must take adequate study leave to understa...

Blood sampling is one of the most common experimental procedures performed on laboratory animals for the analysis of biochemical, metabolic, toxicological and immunological parameters or the production of antibodies. Sampling of sufficient volumes of blood in mice and rats can be challenging due to the relatively small size of animals. All sampling methods should be evaluated and the use of the...

Lactate is the end product of the metabolic process of glucose utilization, known as anaerobic glycolysis, which occurs in the cytoplasm of all cells. In well-oxygenated tissues this lactate is metabolized further, but if tissues are inadequately oxygenated, lactate accumulates locally and blood concentration increases. As a blood marker of tissue hypoxia, lactate measurement has long-establish...

Capillary blood sampling is a medical procedure aimed at assisting in patient diagnosis, management and treatment, and is increasingly used worldwide, in part because of the increasing availability of point-of-care testing. It is also frequently used to obtain small blood volumes for laboratory testing because it minimizes pain. The capillary blood sampling procedure can influence the quality o...