The effects of various types of anticoagu-lants on plasma biochemistry were studied in man and various animals, but limited information is existing for ostrich plasma biochemistry. Ten clinically healthy ostrich were blood sampled in different tubes con-taining each anticoagulant and plain tube for harvest-ing plasma and serum. The concentrations of glucose, cholesterol, uric acid, creatinine, total protein, albu-min, calcium, inorganic phosphorus, and magnesium and the activity of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) were measured. The concentrations of glucose, uric acid, total protein, and calcium were significantly lower in citrated plasma than that of serum. For dilution corrected citrated plasma significant differences were only seen for the concentration of uric acid. Most parameters did not show any differences, but signifi-cant increase were seen for glucose, total protein, albumin, and phosphorus concentrations when hepa-rin was used as an anticoagulant. Introduction Evaluation of the ratite hematology and clinical chemistry has become increasingly important in veterinary care of diseased birds. In the past few years, the focus of ratite medicine has shifted from individual care of extremely expensive breeding stock to one concerned primarily with flock oriented production (Green and Blue-Mclendon 2000). The primary goal of a clinical chemistry laboratory is the correct performance of analytic procedures that yield accurate and precise information, aiding patient diagnosis and treatment. Whole blood, plasma, and serum have been used extensively as measures of nutritional and metabolic status. In mammals, serum from coagulated blood is the preferred specimen for clinical chemistry analysis. But plasma obtained with an appropriate anticoagu-lant may be an equally valid specimen and in certain conditions preferable to serum. In addition, whole blood obtained on appropriate anticoagulant is the

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