Aquatic Animal and Avian Histology

Having participated in the design and validation of the original EPA and OECD Tier 1 and 2 protocols, we are exceptionally proficient in the preparation of tissues for standardized studies used in endocrine disruption research, including the Fish Short Term Reproduction Assay (FSTRA), the Amphibian Metamorphosis Assay (AMA), the Medaka Extended One Generation Reproduction Test (MEOGRT), the Larval Amphibian Growth and Development Assay (LAGDA), and the Avian Two-generation Toxicity Test in the Japanese Quail (JQTT). Modifications to these assays, including the substitution of alternate species, or the collection of additional tissue types, are easily accommodated. Additionally, our handling protocols allow us to process tissues from invertebrates such as bivalve mollusks, crustaceans, and corals.

Our teams of necropsy technicians and pathologists can travel to distant locations to perform dissections at sites of potential environmental contamination. Tissues can be collected and processed individually, or in the case of small fish or frog species or juvenile animals, organs can often be processed in whole-body sections. This latter technique allows us to evaluate more than 30 tissues in as few as two or three slides. Our pathologists and histotechnicians work to ensure that your valuable aquatic animal and avian specimens are handled with the utmost care and that the resulting histologic slides are of the highest quality.