**Dog blood test and ultrasound terms, explained**

> A plain-language glossary of the abbreviations on a canine haematology, biochemistry and urinalysis report, plus the ultrasound vocabulary.

Source: https://galen.vet/journal/dog-blood-test-and-ultrasound-terms/ · updated: 2026-09-17

[Journal](https://galen.vet/) /Tests and reports

Tests and reports

# Dog blood test and ultrasound terms: what each abbreviation measures

A report is a list of measurements, not a list of verdicts. Knowing what each one measures makes the conversation with the vet a different conversation.

Written by the [Galen editorial team](https://galen.vet/about/). Reference material — not a diagnosis, a prescription or a dosing instruction.

Published 17 September 2026

![A laboratory bench with blood sample tubes in a rack beside a printed results report](https://galen.vet/img/journal/dog-blood-test-and-ultrasound-terms.webp)

*A laboratory bench with blood sample tubes in a rack beside a printed results report*

## The short answer

- This page says what each abbreviation measures. What a particular value means in a particular dog is a diagnosis, and that belongs to the veterinarian who examined it.
- Reference intervals are laboratory-specific and often age- and breed-specific, so a value flagged high by one laboratory may be unremarkable at another.
- A single out-of-range value in an otherwise normal panel is frequently not the finding — patterns across several results are what carry meaning.
- Sighthounds, and some other breeds, have genuinely different normal ranges for several haematology values.
- Ultrasound terms describe how tissue reflects sound: hyperechoic is brighter, hypoechoic darker, anechoic black. They are descriptions, not diagnoses.

On this page

1. The three groups
2. Haematology — counting the cells
3. Biochemistry — substances in the serum
4. Urinalysis
5. Ultrasound vocabulary
6. How to use a report in the conversation
7. Bottom line

A results report is handed over as a column of abbreviations, a column of numbers and a column of ranges, with some of the numbers flagged. It is legible in the sense that you can read it and unhelpful in the sense that you cannot.

This page is a glossary. **It says what each abbreviation measures. It does not say what a value means in your dog**, because that is a diagnosis: it depends on the whole panel, the history, the examination and the trend, and it belongs to the veterinarian who has all four.

**Read this before the numbers.** Reference intervals are built so that a proportion of healthy animals fall outside them by definition, they are specific to each laboratory's methods, and they shift with age and breed. A single marginal value in an otherwise unremarkable panel is a common and usually unimportant finding. Patterns, not individual flags, are what carry information.

## The three groups

***A panel is three conversations at once, and the third one is the one owners are most often asked to supply.** Urea and creatinine describe what is left in the blood; urine specific gravity describes what the kidney did about it, and the pair together says considerably more than either alone. Free to reuse with a link to this page.*

## Haematology — counting the cells

*Haematology abbreviations and what each one counts or measures. Definitions only — an abnormal value has many possible explanations and none of them is settled by this table.*

| Abbreviation | What it measures |
| --- | --- |
| RBC | Number of red blood cells per unit volume |
| HCT / PCV | Haematocrit or packed cell volume — the proportion of blood made up of red cells |
| HGB | Haemoglobin concentration, the oxygen-carrying protein |
| MCV | Mean corpuscular volume — the average size of a red cell |
| MCHC | Average haemoglobin concentration within red cells |
| RETIC | Reticulocytes — immature red cells, showing whether the marrow is responding |
| WBC | Total white blood cell count |
| NEU | Neutrophils — the largest white cell population in dogs |
| LYM | Lymphocytes |
| MONO | Monocytes |
| EOS | Eosinophils, associated with parasitic and allergic processes |
| BASO | Basophils |
| PLT | Platelets, the cell fragments involved in clotting |

Two practical notes. Platelet counts are frequently reported as falsely low because platelets clump in the sample tube — a laboratory will usually comment on this. And **sighthounds are genuinely different**: greyhounds and related breeds normally run a higher packed cell volume and lower white cell and platelet counts than other dogs, and a generic reference range flags them as abnormal when they are not.

## Biochemistry — substances in the serum

*Biochemistry abbreviations by the system they report on. Grouping them this way is why a pattern is more informative than any single line.*

| Abbreviation | What it measures |
| --- | --- |
| ALT | An enzyme inside liver cells; released when those cells are damaged |
| ALKP / ALP | Alkaline phosphatase — associated with bile ducts, some hormonal states, certain medicines, and bone activity in growing dogs |
| AST | An enzyme found in liver and also in muscle |
| GGT | Another bile-duct associated enzyme, used alongside ALKP |
| TBIL | Total bilirubin, a pigment from red cell breakdown processed by the liver |
| BUN / UREA | Urea nitrogen — cleared by the kidney, but also affected by protein intake, hydration and gut bleeding |
| CREA | Creatinine, produced by muscle and cleared by the kidney; influenced by muscle mass |
| SDMA | A kidney marker less affected by muscle mass, which tends to rise earlier than creatinine |
| GLU | Blood glucose |
| TP | Total protein in serum |
| ALB | Albumin — the main circulating protein, made by the liver |
| GLOB | Globulins — the remaining proteins, including antibodies |
| Ca | Calcium |
| PHOS | Phosphorus |
| Na, K, Cl | Sodium, potassium and chloride — the main electrolytes |
| AMYL, LIPA, cPL | Amylase, lipase and a pancreas-specific lipase used in assessing pancreatitis |
| CHOL, TRIG | Cholesterol and triglycerides |
| T4 | Thyroxine, the main circulating thyroid hormone |

The distinction that clears up the most confusion: **liver enzymes are not liver function.** ALT and ALKP report that something is happening to liver cells or bile flow. Whether the liver is still doing its job is assessed from albumin, bilirubin, glucose, urea and bile acids — which is why an alarming enzyme value can accompany an entirely functional liver, and why a failing liver can present without dramatic enzymes.

## Urinalysis

**USG — urine specific gravity.** How concentrated the urine is, and therefore how well the kidney is conserving water. It is the measurement that makes urea and creatinine interpretable, and the reason a urine sample is so often requested alongside blood. Collecting one properly is the subject of [collecting a urine or stool sample from a dog](https://galen.vet/journal/collecting-a-urine-or-stool-sample-from-a-dog/).

**Dipstick values** — protein, glucose, ketones, blood, pH, bilirubin. Screening measures, read alongside the sediment.

**UPC — urine protein to creatinine ratio.** Quantifies protein loss in a way a dipstick cannot, by correcting for how concentrated the sample is.

**Sediment.** What is seen under a microscope: red and white cells, bacteria, crystals, casts and epithelial cells. This is the part most affected by how the sample was collected and how long it sat before analysis.

## Ultrasound vocabulary

Ultrasound reports describe how tissue reflects sound. The words are descriptive, and the same description fits many different causes.

- **Echogenicity** — how brightly a tissue reflects, relative to something else.

- **Hyperechoic** — brighter than the reference tissue.

- **Hypoechoic** — darker.

- **Anechoic** — black; this is what fluid looks like.

- **Isoechoic** — the same brightness as the reference.

- **Heterogeneous / homogeneous** — mixed in appearance, or uniform.

- **Effusion** — free fluid in a body cavity.

- **Acoustic shadowing** — a dark band behind something that blocks sound, such as a stone or gas.

- **Distal enhancement** — a brighter area behind a fluid-filled structure.

- **Wall layering** — whether the normal layers of the intestinal wall are preserved, which is looked at closely in suspected [intestinal obstruction](https://galen.vet/journal/intestinal-obstruction-in-dogs/).

An ultrasound is also operator-dependent and limited by gas: a gassy intestine blocks the beam, which is one reason a study may be repeated or supplemented by radiographs.

## How to use a report in the conversation

Ask three questions, in this order, and the appointment becomes a great deal more useful.

1. **Which of these results matter, and why?** Most panels contain flagged values that are not the story.

2. **What pattern are you seeing, rather than which single number?**

3. **What would you expect to change if we repeated this in a few weeks?** Trend is often more informative than any single set, and it also establishes whether a repeat is planned.

Keep copies. A result from a year ago converts an ambiguous value today into a clear direction of travel, and practices change, dogs move, and referrals happen.

## Bottom line

A results report is a list of measurements, and this page defines what each one measures rather than what it means. Haematology counts red cells, white cells and platelets; biochemistry measures liver-associated enzymes, kidney markers, glucose, proteins, electrolytes and minerals; urinalysis measures what the kidney is doing with water and what is passing into the urine, which is what makes the kidney markers interpretable. Liver enzymes report damage, not function. Reference intervals belong to a specific laboratory and shift with age and breed — sighthounds are genuinely different — and a single marginal value in an otherwise normal panel is common and usually not the finding. Ultrasound terms describe brightness, not diagnosis. What any of it means in one dog is a clinical judgement, and the useful thing an owner can bring to it is a question about the pattern.

## Questions readers ask

What do the abbreviations on a dog's blood test mean?

They fall into three groups. Haematology counts the cells: red cells and the haemoglobin and packed volume that go with them, white cells and their subtypes, and platelets. Biochemistry measures substances in the serum that reflect how organs are working — liver enzymes, kidney markers, glucose, proteins, electrolytes and minerals. Urinalysis measures what the kidneys are doing with water and what is passing into the urine. The glossary below defines each abbreviation individually.

My dog has one value slightly outside the range — is that a problem?

Not necessarily, and that judgement is the veterinarian's rather than the report's. Reference intervals are constructed so that a proportion of perfectly healthy animals fall outside them, values shift with age, breed, excitement, recent food and the handling of the sample, and a panel with many measurements will often produce one that is marginally out. What matters is the pattern across results, the trend over time, and the dog in front of the clinician.

What is the difference between BUN, creatinine and SDMA?

All three are substances the kidneys clear, so all three are used to assess kidney function, and each has a different behaviour. Urea, reported as BUN, is affected by protein intake, dehydration and gastrointestinal bleeding as well as by kidney function. Creatinine comes from muscle and is affected by muscle mass, so a very muscular or a very thin dog shifts it. SDMA is a newer marker that tends to rise earlier in kidney disease and is less affected by muscle mass. They are interpreted together and alongside urine concentration.

What do ALT and ALKP tell you?

They are liver-associated enzymes and they report different things. ALT sits inside liver cells and is released when those cells are damaged, so it is broadly a marker of hepatocellular injury. ALKP is associated with the bile ducts and can rise with cholestasis, with certain hormonal conditions, with some medications, and in growing dogs from bone activity. Neither is a measure of how well the liver is functioning — that is assessed with albumin, bilirubin, glucose, urea and bile acids.

What do hyperechoic and hypoechoic mean on an ultrasound report?

They describe how brightly tissue reflects sound relative to its surroundings. Hyperechoic tissue appears brighter, hypoechoic darker, and anechoic completely black — which is what fluid looks like. Isoechoic means the same brightness as the reference tissue. These are descriptive terms about appearance, not diagnoses, and the same description fits several different underlying causes.

Do all dogs share the same reference ranges?

No. Each laboratory publishes intervals derived from its own methods and population, which is why the same sample can be flagged at one and not at another, and why comparing a result against a range from a different laboratory is unreliable. Age matters — growing dogs have higher ALKP from bone activity. Breed matters too: sighthounds characteristically have higher packed cell volume and lower white cell and platelet counts than other dogs, and this is normal for them.

## Keep reading

- [Collecting a urine or stool sample from a dog so the result is usable A sample collected badly is not a slightly worse sample. It is a result that has to be discounted, and a visit that has to be repeated.](https://galen.vet/journal/collecting-a-urine-or-stool-sample-from-a-dog/)
- [Normal temperature, pulse and respiratory rate by species Three numbers anyone can take without equipment worth the name. Their value comes less from the published range than from knowing what this animal reads when it is well.](https://galen.vet/journal/normal-temperature-pulse-respiration-animals/)
- [Units on a veterinary medicine label: IU, mg/mL, percent, CFU and titre A percentage, a milligram per millilitre and an international unit are three different kinds of statement. Here is what each one measures, which convert into each other and which never do.](https://galen.vet/journal/veterinary-drug-units-iu-mg-ml-percent/)
- [Dehydration in cats and dogs: the checks, the causes and the point of no delay By the time dehydration is visible, several per cent of body water has already gone. The checks are worth knowing precisely because they are so late.](https://galen.vet/journal/dehydration-in-cats-and-dogs/)
- [Heartworm in dogs: the life cycle, the six-month window and prevention Everything about heartworm turns on one interval: preventives act on larvae, and larvae become untouchable adults in about six months.](https://galen.vet/journal/heartworm-in-dogs/)

## Sources

1. [Dog owners — veterinary manual](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/dog-owners) — MSD/Merck Veterinary Manual
2. [The Merck Veterinary Manual](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/) — MSD/Merck Veterinary Manual
3. [Global guidelines for small animal practice](https://wsava.org/global-guidelines/) — World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA)
4. [Pet care resources for owners](https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/pet-owners/petcare) — American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
5. [Feline practice guidelines](https://catvets.com/guidelines/practice-guidelines) — American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP)

Galen publishes reference material on veterinary medicines. It describes how
products are labelled, stored and classified; it does not tell you what to give an
animal, in what amount, or for how long. Those decisions belong to a veterinarian
who has examined the animal, working from the manufacturer's labelling for the
exact product in front of them. Where national rules apply — to prescribing,
residues in food, or reporting a suspected reaction — the authority in your own
country is the one that governs.

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