Learn more about what the MySimplePetLab Skin & Itch Test screens for, bacteria and yeast, and mites.
There are two types of skin cells commonly seen under the microscope (1000x magnification) on a skin swab sample cytology: corneocytes and keratinocytes. Corneocytes are “dead skin flakes” on the surface layer of skin which flake off as they’re repla
An overabundance of yeast (Malassezia) can cause clinical signs like skin odor, skin discharge, scratching at skin, or chewing at paws. Skin discharge from a yeast infection can be brown, black, or sometimes yellow or white. Yeast are dark spheres (l
An overabundance of bacteria can cause clinical signs like skin odor, skin discharge, scratching at skin, or chewing at paws. Skin discharge from a bacterial infection can be brown, black, yellow, or white. There are two main forms (shapes) of bacter
White blood cells (WBC) are immune cells that react to the presence of inflammation (redness) or infection by microbes (bacteria and/or yeast). Produced in the bone marrow, they squeeze out of blood vessels to “crawl” toward crisis areas of the body.
Red blood cells (RBC) are not normally seen under the microscope (1000x magnification) in a skin cytology of a healthy dog ear unless the swab sample collection technique was too forceful (thus getting some minor bleeding). Instead, and most commonly
Skin mites are the first thing to look for on skin swab samples. Assume treatment is needed if any skin mites or their eggs are detected in your dog’s skin swab samples. There are four types of mites searched for on skin cytology: Sarcoptes scabiei (
Low numbers of bacteria and yeast usually live harmlessly on the surface of healthy dog skin; so, it’s common and quite normal to find small (occasional) numbers under the microscope. Overpopulation causes clinical signs and requires treatment.