[Basics of PCR and related techniques applied in veterinary parasitology]

We attempte through the following overall review pertaining to the basics of PCR techniques (Polymerase Chain Reaction), to introduce the main applications used in veterinary parasitology. A major problem restricting the application possibilities of molecular biology techniques is of quantitative nature. Amplification techniques represent a real revolution, for it makes possible the production of tens, even hundreds of nanogrammes of sequences when starting from very small quantities. The PCR technique has dramatically transformed the strategies used so far in molecular biology and subsequently research and medical diagnosis.