Accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, ViTALS is the on-site interdisciplinary diagnostic laboratory of the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.

Woman doing lab work in the ViTALS Laboratory at VMCVM.

Submission Forms for Diagnostic Tests

All forms revised and effective 10/1/2020

ViTALS offers quality veterinary diagnostic services to external veterinarians through diagnostic service sections including anatomic pathology, clinical pathology, clinical microbiology, clinical immunology, clinical parasitology, and clinical molecular diagnostics. To learn more about our services and laboratory submission process, please contact Lab Central Receiving at vitalslcr@vt.edu or 540-231-4320.

Submission Guidelines

A veterinarian must make all submission requests to ensure that s/he is involved in the interpretation of test results and formulation of plans for patient care. The necropsy service is the lone exception to this requirement.

  • Label ALL specimens with the patient and owner name.
  • Label containers/slides/swabs with collection site and collection date.

General Instructions

  • Complete the appropriate ViTALS Laboratory submission form for the testing requested.
  • Forms should be legible and complete to avoid any confusion in the testing requested, the patient/owner information, or the clinic/clinician information.

History

  • Submit a complete, concise history where indicated on the submission form.
  • Provide as much information as possible to aid the laboratory in the diagnostic process.
  • Indicate all treatments and vaccinations.
  • List impressions or suspected causes of the problem.

Submission Forms

  • To ensure that your laboratory and necropsy samples are sent under optimal conditions and arrive to ViTALS in a timely manner, please follow our recommended shipping instructions.

Courier Service

  • We offer limited courier service to veterinarians in the New River Valley. Please contact Diamond McClendong at diamondm@vt.edu to inquire about availability.
  • Necropsy Submission Guidelines
  • We prefer that necropsy submission requests come through a veterinarian; however, owners who live within a 35-mile radius of the veterinary college may submit carcasses or bodies for necropsy without a veterinarian's request.
  • Pre-payment of necropsy and other support services provided by necropsy may be required at time of submission.
  • If shipping a small, intact carcass, please follow our shipping instructions.
  • Samples submitted and/or derived from laboratory submissions become the property of ViTALS and may be used in research, teaching, test-method validation, quality control, etc.
  • No human samples will be accepted.
  • We reserve the right to assess Hazard Fees to leaking containers or containers contaminated with blood, urine, feces, etc.
  • Any work subcontracted by ViTALS will be indicated as such on the laboratory report.

When should I expect my necropsy report?

  • Final Necropsy Reports are distributed typically within 10 business days or less. For timeframes for other result reports, please contact ViTALS for more information.

How will I receive my report?

  • Reports will be distributed to the veterinarian listed on the submission form via fax, email, or mail, depending on the clinic’s report-delivery preferences.

What if I need to know necropsy results as quickly as possible because of herd health issues?

  • Upon submission, please indicate this requirement to the necropsy technician, veterinary student, pathology resident, or pathologist so that your request can be accommodated accordingly.

If I have performed a necropsy in the field, what is the best way to get the samples submitted for evaluation?

Referral Testing

Tests not listed on the ViTALS Tests and Fees document may be available at another laboratory. We can recommend a referral laboratory; however, you are encouraged to deal directly with the referral laboratory since additional fees are applied to samples handled and shipped by ViTALS.