Quiz: PCR for the General Practitioner

Kyle Webb, DVM, DACVP, ANTECH Diagnostics, Orlando, FL

ArticleLast Updated June 20181 min readPeer Reviewed
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Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) uses amplification to detect infectious nucleic acids or those associated with disease processes, often as a primary or adjunct molecular diagnostic tool.

PCR has many applications in both human and veterinary medicine, but the most practical for the general veterinary practitioner are diagnosis of certain infectious diseases and detection of lymphoma. PCR for antigen receptor rearrangement (PARR), for example, assesses lymphocyte clonality, which can be helpful in cases where cytology is equivocal.