Veterinary diagnostics plays a central role, guiding the application of treatment and control measures in any veterinary field. The approach to problem solving in the veterinary field starts with identifying the most appropriate and economical method/s to reach an accurate diagnosis from which every action there-after emanates. The explosion of available information on the web has turned every person into instant diagnosticians which has had a significant impact on navigating a minefield of diagnostic approaches, some of which are simply nonsensical and leads many scientists and veterinarians to bark up the wrong trees. In the world of intensive farming, no matter the species, disease status of a population is measured by production output. Whether poor production is the result of poor fertility, poor growth or high mortality rate, all these entities require a diagnostic investigation to start somewhere.
On-farm clinical and macroscopic post mortal investigation in association with submitting specimens from mortalities or electively culled individuals is the sensible approach. In events where the condition being investigated is unclear, full sets of tissues for histopathological examination should be the first line of diagnostics, since this method is not specific and casts the net the widest of all tests. The result is often diagnostic, but when inconclusive will at the very least provide direction for further diagnostic tests. Not only does this cut costs tremendously but also provide a sound foundation for subsequent decisions to move in a sensible diagnostic direction.