PLATELET CONCENTRATION AND HEMOGLOBIN-FUNCTION IN GREYHOUNDS

Hematologic characteristics of 36 Greyhounds were studied and compared with characteristics of 22 non-Greyhound controls. Fourteen of the Gr eyhounds were tested and found to be seronegative for Ehrlichia canis and Babesia canis. Compared with the non-Greyhounds, Greyhounds had hi gher mean hemoglobin concentration, PVC mean corpuscular volume, and m ean cellular hemoglobin, and lower mean RBC count, hemoglobin P-50 val ue, Hill coefficient, platelet count, and total plasma protein concent ration. The lower mean hemoglobin P-50 value in Greyhounds suggested t hat the higher mean hemoglobin concentration and PCV were not solely a result of selective breeding for superior racing abilities, but that Greyhound hemoglobin may have a greater affinity for oxygen than does the hemoglobin of non-Greyhounds.