Effect of phlebotomy on reticulocyte numbers in Japanese Quail

Hematological changes were studied in response to a phlebotomy of 30% of the estimated total blood volume in 5-week-old Coturnix coturnix japonica. Blood samples, femoral bone marrow samples, and blood and marrow erythroid cell differential counts were collected at 0 (nonphlebotomized), 1, 3, 6, 24, and 72 hr postphlebotomy. The samples were collected only once from each bird. Total peripheral erythrocyte numbers, percent hematocrit, and hemoglobin levels were decreased at 1, 3, 6, and 24 hr. The relative percentage of peripheral erythrocytes with little or no reticulum was not affected by phlebotomy. With the exception of mean cellular hemoglobin concentration, all of the hematological values measured in the peripheral blood had returned to nonphlebotomized, 0 hr levels at 72 hr postphlebotomy. However, in the bone marrow, a marked reticulocytosis was found at 72 hr postphlebotomy.