The Comparative Ocular Pathology Laboratory of Wisconsin (COPLOW) was founded in 1983 by Dr. Richard R. Dubielzig, a board certified veterinary pathologist with a long-time research interest in ocular pathology. The extent of the service has grown exponentially, currently providing histopathology diagnoses for several thousand cases annually. COPLOW is a mail-in service designed to evaluate ocular and periocular tissues to provide diagnoses for veterinarians and veterinary ophthalmologists around the country and world. Veterinary specialists in ophthalmology need a service which not only provides a timely and accurate diagnosis, but is capable of going beyond the diagnosis and investigating relevant aspects of ocular pathology to better understand the pathogenesis and prognosis of veterinary ocular disease. The laboratory is also interested in disseminating information on ocular pathology to students of veterinary ophthalmology at all levels.
As of 2023, COPLOW receives around 9,000 cases per year and have over 100,000 cases in our database. We have five board certified veterinary pathologists on our staff: Dr. Leandro Teixeira, the current director of the laboratory; our staff pathologists, Dr. Gillian Shaw, Dr. Megan Climans, Dr. Jaimie Miller, and Dr. Richard Dubielzig, the founder of the lab who currently serves as a volunteer pathologist.
The COPLOW histopathology collection of specimens is housed in a searchable format with easy access to all paraffin blocks, microscopic slides, submission forms and final reports, which are all available in one room. We think of the collection as a resource in veterinary ocular pathology to be used to investigate the pathogenesis, prognosis, effectiveness of treatment, and epidemiology of spontaneous ocular disease in animal species.
We provide a resource for disseminating a wealth of information about ocular pathology and ocular disease to veterinarians, veterinary ophthalmologists and students at all levels through case presentations, scientific reports, invited lectures and distance education.
