WHAT IS THE MEANING OF ]]NORMAL[[ - A COM MENTARY ON THE NORMAL RANGES OF CLINICAL-PATHOLOGICAL DIAGNOSTIC PARAMETERS FOR SHEEP

Diagnostic mis-interpretations may occur when the state of health of a n animal is determined when only the clinical standard of a physiologi cal parameter is used. Ir is important to remember that such standards are prone to the normal statistical variation, and from the published literature, in some cases this is quite large. The objective of the p resent study was to provide some clarification of this problem using a prospective approach. Physiological functions of domestic animals wer e found to be the result of continuous rhythmic variations, suggesting that homeodynamic is a better term than homeostasis. Modifications of this dynamic process may appear before the onset of clinical signs of a systemic disturbance, indicating that the homeodynamic is a very se nsitive measurement. Validation of the homeodynamic, using non-linear dynamic methodology, provides a means of determining the health status of an animal using only one variable.