Illustration of FAMACHA© method

ILLUSTRATION OF METHOD FOR EXPOSING THE MUCOUS MEMBRANES OF THE LOWER EYELID for anemia (J.A. van Wyk, University of Pretoria, South Africa)

Most commonly, the mucous membranes are more even in color than in the photo, but when more or less colorless blotches do occur as in the photo and/or the color of the exposed blood vessels are more intensely red than the rest of the background, it is the color of the vessels that is evaluated against the FAMACHA © color card. The packed cell volume (haematocrit) of the animal shown on the photo was 32 percent.

The exposure of the mucous membranes for FAMACHA© evaluation is achieved by applying gentle pressure and sliding the upper eyelid downwards to cover the bulb of the eye, while simultaneously opening the mucous membrane of the lower eyelid by pressing firmly on the skin, with a downward sliding action, as can be seen from the position of the two thumbs in the picture.