Clinical chemistry and hematology values in a Caribbean population of African green monkeys.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Hematology and clinical chemistry (HCC) reference values are critical in veterinary practice and in vivo pre-clinical research, enabling detection of health abnormalities, response to therapeutic intervention or adverse toxicological effects, as well as monitoring of clinical management. METHODS: In this report, reference ranges for 46 HCC parameters were characterized in 331 wild-caught and colony-bred African green monkeys. Effects of sex, weight and duration of captivity were determined by one-way analysis of variance. RESULTS: Significant sex differences were observed for several HCC parameters. Significant differences were also observed for select HCC variables between newly caught animals and those held in captivity for 1-12 months or longer. CONCLUSIONS: Comparison of this data with other non-human primate species and humans highlights similarities and disparities between species. Potential causes of interpopulation variability and relevance to the use of the African green monkey as a non-human primate model are discussed.