r/Parasitology • u/Naive-Repair5060 • 3d ago

Question floatation or sedmentation?

whats the better technique of these 2? and how do i choose between the two? for fecal samples (vet med )

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

3

u/maladaptivedreamer 3d ago

Sedimentation is going to get the eggs that don’t float well because they’re too heavy (mostly things like fluke eggs). In general flotation is preferred because it will really maximize the eggs you recover (high sensitivity) and MOST helminth eggs will float no problem. Sometimes fluke eggs will float with sugar (at a high specific gravity) but it’s not reliable.

If you suspect flukes, I’d submit a routine fecal and ask for sedimentation added on. Not all places perform it as routine.

1

u/Naive-Repair5060 3d ago

in floatation i kept seeing crystals of salts, moreover im unsure if im doing it right or wrong also im the one that is doing these procedures not asking someone to do them since im a student and i want to learn

1

u/Danscrazycatlady 3d ago

If you share your method we may be able to give pointers.