Clinicopathologic aspects of lead poisoning in birds: a review

After reviewing of the sources of lead poisoning in birds, the diagnostic value of several clinicopathologic parameters for the diagnosis of plumbism in birds is discussed. These parameters include venous lead concentration, plasma delta-aminolaevulinic acid dehydratase concentration (ALA-D), aminolaevulinic-acid (ALA) excretion in urine, free erythrocytic protoporphyrin (FEPP) and zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) concentrations in venous blood, and the percentage of fluorocytes, reticulocytes, and erythrocytes with basophilic stippling in peripheral blood. The CaNa2 EDTA lead mobilization test is also mentioned.