thepetbill

Diagnostics and laboratory tests

Cytology (fine needle aspiration) prices at UK vets

Taking cells from a lump or organ with a fine needle and examining them.

Published prices

No practice on our list publishes this price yet: vet businesses with 15 or more practices or out-of-hours centres must publish it, if they offer it, on each practice's website from 23 December 2026, and smaller practices from 23 March 2027.

What it is

The CMA's definition says the price "includes both fine needle aspiration and laboratory testing" (Explanatory Note, Annex 1).

Official price-list name: Cytology (fine needle aspiration) (CMA Order, Schedule 1).

What's included

  • Anything that is an essential part of the service, and VAT (Art. 7(2)(d) and (f))

Diagnostics and laboratory tests

Schedule 1 groups nine items as diagnostics and laboratory tests, and says all of them include interpretation: the price should cover a vet reading and explaining the result, not only taking the sample or the image.

Why the price varies

  • Outside providers. If part of the work is done by someone else, such as an outside laboratory or a visiting specialist, the listed price must include their fees (Art. 7(2)(k)).
  • Sedation. The name does not include sedation; ask whether your pet is likely to need it.
  • Number of samples. Ask how the practice prices sampling more than one lump.
  • Complexity. Every list must say that its prices are for the typical case and may go up in more complex or complicated cases (Art. 7(2)(l)).

Questions to ask the practice

  • Does the price include the laboratory's fee?
  • How is it priced if more than one lump needs sampling?
  • Is sedation included if needed?

We explain prices, not treatment. Ask your vet about the clinical choices for your own pet.

The rules

What the practice's price list must show, with the Order's article references

The exact name from Schedule 1, “Cytology (fine needle aspiration)”, with no free-text description (Art. 7(2)(a)).

As for every item: each version on its own line with the standard one marked, a cat price and five dog bands where the price depends on the animal, and VAT included, kept up to date and changed before a higher price is charged (Art. 7(2)(b), (c), (f) and (g), and 7(5)).

A price that includes interpretation of the result (Schedule 1).

Any third-party fees for parts of the work done by someone else (Art. 7(2)(k)).

Large vet groups must publish from 23 December 2026 and smaller practices from 23 March 2027 (Art. 3 and 7).

Unhappy with a bill or a price? Our guide explains how to complain, from the practice's own process to free mediation.

Questions

Does the price include the laboratory test?

Yes, by the CMA's definition the price includes both the aspiration and the laboratory testing.

Why might my bill be higher than the listed price?

Listed prices are for the typical case. Each price list must say so, and must warn that prices may go up in more complex or complicated cases (Art. 7(2)(l)). The price must still include anything that is an essential part of the service (Art. 7(2)(d)).

How up to date are the prices here?

Every price shows the date we last checked it and links to the practice's own page. We re-check weekly, and daily from 23 to 31 December 2026. If a price looks wrong, email [email protected].

Sources

How we get prices

How to compare vet prices in the UKA practical checklist for comparing vet price lists fairly, from consultation minutes and vaccine bundles to out-of-hours cover and cremation.What the CMA vet price rules mean for pet ownersFrom 23 December 2026 big vet groups must publish a standard price list. Here is what changes, when, and what you can do with it.What's included in a neuter or spay priceThe seven tick boxes every UK vet price list must show for castration, spays and dentals, and how to read them before you compare prices.