VETERINARY PARASITOLOGY VPTH603
LABORATORY 
             

last updated:  08/16/2005

This web site incorporates the laboratory handouts and review slides for the core Parasitology course VPTH603.  Use this material to review material before you come to the lab and for studying for the lab exams. 

for the pdf version of the  Lab Manual  Click Here

                                                    INDEX

Lab #               Title                                                                            Date

                    Breakdown of grading:                                                           

Are they comprehensive? You'll note that lectures 34-46 concentrate on clinical parasitisms from a host-oriented viewpoint. These lectures assume a working knowledge of the life cycles and biology of the parasites in question gleaned from the first portion of the course. The written final will stress material from these lectures along with material on the protozoa. However, in so doing it will also assume a requisite knowledge of the biology of the parasites in question.  The last 2 laboratories are a review of the parasites you learned about this year presented in a host oriented manner.  Thus, the final lab exam will be comprehensive, but will concentrate on material on which you haven't been tested (Labs 6-10).

                                                General Information

You will need your microscope for every laboratory session and for both lab tests.

Each laboratory comprises 3 parts: 1. Demonstrations, 2. AV material and 3. activities to be done at your bench. Please note that the objectives of the lab are listed at the beginning of each handout. There is a checklist at the end of each unit to aid you in gauging your progress. Attainment of the laboratory objectives, reinforced by the checklists, is the best preparation for the lab quizzes.

 Demonstrations: These are set up as a series of stations (10 - 25) in MDL 11. They consist of gross specimens of the parasites and pathology specimens, microscope slides of the diagnostic stages and histopathology. Because of the limited number of specimens and the large number of students the DEMOS often take the longest to observe. (Copies of the DEMO cards can be found on the CAL web-page). At the end of each set of DEMOS there will be one station that will be set-up in the same manner as the Lab Quiz questions will be. The purpose of this demo is to familiarize you with the form used on the quiz and to let you test yourself on the material you just completed. The answer to this demo question will be on the reverse side of the demo card.

AV:    This portion of the laboratory consists of video tapes and the web sites. The videos are available in the AV room for viewing before or after the lab. The purpose of the web sites is to review the material you have gone over (or will go over) in the lab. The web sites also serve (along with your notes) as the major source of review material for the Laboratory Tests. The relevant web sites can be accessed through the CAL site (Pathobiology Projects). The 3 sites covering lab related material are:

Parasitology Lab Manual (http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/paraav/)

Parasitology Lab Demonstrations (http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/paralab/)

Diagnosis of Veterinary Endoparasitic Infections (http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/dxendopar/)

 Bench work: This part of the lab is designed to allow you to run the different diagnostic tests needed to identify parasites, as well as providing an opportunity to study the diagnostic stages of parasites. Some of the slides you will be told to view will come from a Student Slide Box (SSB) which will be shared by a group of 3 to 4 students. The slide box will be given out in the first lab, be sure you or one of your partners picks it up during the first hour of this lab.

                              Housekeeping              

Wear your lab coat with name tag to every laboratory session.

Clean up your area before you leave the lab. Everything you used is to be returned to the proper bucket (on the cart in the back of MDL 11) for cleaning.

Any sticks or paper towels contaminated with feces or blood are to be placed in the biohazard bag in trash can at the back of MDL 11.

Return bottles and unused slides and cover slips to the end of the bench.

DO NOT EAT OR DRINK IN THE MDLs.

Store your student slide box in an upright position (like a book on a shelf).

Occasionally we will be using live infectious material, when we do so we will let you know. However, it is safer if you treat all the samples as potentially infectious to humans.

General Map of MDL-11

   (as set-up for a Parasitology Laboratory Session)

Copyright University of Pennsylvania 2005

         Comments or Questions contact  Dr. Thomas Nolan at