Learn more about what the MySimplePetLab Skin & Itch Test screens for, bacteria and yeast, and mites.
Corneocytes are “dead skin flakes” on the surface layer of skin which flake off as they’re replaced by newer, deeper layers of skin cells. Keratinocytes are living skin cells (with a nucleus), found just underneath the corneocytes in the skin layer.
Skin discharge from a yeast infection can be brown, black, or sometimes yellow or white. Yeast are dark spheres (larger than bacteria) often with an extra smaller sphere, so they take on the shape of small “footprints”. Low numbers of yeast usually l
Skin discharge from a bacterial infection can be brown, black, yellow, or white. There are two main forms (shapes) of bacteria commonly detected from a skin swab cytology: cocci (sphere-shaped) and bacilli (rod-shaped). Low numbers of bacteria usuall
Produced in the bone marrow, they squeeze out of blood vessels to “crawl” toward crisis areas of the body. The two types of WBC most often seen under the microscope (1000x magnification) in a skin swab sample cytology are neutrophils and lymphocytes.
Instead, and most commonly, larger quantities of red blood cells are seen if the skin is inflamed (red, sore, swollen) and/or if a microbe (bacteria, yeast) infection or skin mite infestation is underway. Red blood cells are also common when rubbing
There are four types of mites searched for on skin cytology: Sarcoptes scabiei (sarcoptic mange; scabies), Demodex canis (demodectic mange), Cheyletiella yasguri (walking dandruff), and Trombiculidae (chiggers). However, unlike ear mites (Otodectes c
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.