How to Perform an Equine Field Necropsy

1. Introduction
Regular performance of post-mortem necropsy examination will greatly increase the likelihood of accurate diagnoses and often provides a more thorough case understanding. Necropsy findings can also be helpful for elucidating the severity of disease to owners who need further validation of their decision to euthanize. Unfortunately, the time required to perform necropsies coupled with owners’ occasional wariness of having the remains of their horses dissected often deters clinicians from performing necropsies in the field. The described technique is an abbreviated method from the prosection routinely performed in diagnostic laboratories, and it is suitable for examining the abdominal and thoracic cavities to evaluate the most common disorders. It can be performed reasonably quickly in the field and leaves the carcass relatively intact, making this a desirable procedure for both clinician and owner.

2. Materials and Methods
The equipment (Fig. 1) needed for necropsy includes a high-quality knife, digital camera, rib cutters (tree pruners), identification tags, hack saw, plastic ziptop bags, scissors, umbilical tape, sharpening steel, specimen containers, Bard-Parker surgical blades,^a and blood tubes. [...]