[Experiences with a sedimentation technique for the enrichment of cerebrospinal fluid cells in the dog and cat. Part 1].

The differentiation of cells of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) gives valuable information about certain neurologic diseases. The sedimentation technique of Sayk modified by Kölmel is introduced and its application described. Cells of 300 samples of CSF from dogs and cats are evaluated. There were very good to reasonable results in 88% (263 of 300) of the samples. A comparison between cell number, morphology and protein content in 150 samples was performed. 90 CSF samples with normal cell count (less than or equal to 5/mm3, determined in the Fuchs-Rosenthal chamber) were compared with the cell yield after sedimentation. In 58% (52 of 90) of the samples more than 200 cells were found, in 13% (12 of 90) more than 800 could be differentiated. The results are compared with those of other methods mentioned in the literature.