Comparative haematology, haemochemistry and electrocardiography of the slender loris and bonnet monkey

The female loris had a higher erythrocyte count than the male whereas in the bonnet monkey the converse occurred. Sex differences were seen in the neutrophil and leucocyte counts, but not in the eosinophils and monocytes. The loris exhibited high potassium, magnesium, chloride and sulphate levels, while the bonnet monkey showed a relatively high level of sugar and haemoglobin. The loris showed higher percentages of blood cholesterol and urea. There were species-dependent variations in the plasma proteins independent of the sex. The electrocardiographic patterns did not reveal sex differences in either animal. However the conventional II lead revealed species specific differences in the duration and the component wave form amplitudes of these animals. The haematological and electrocardiographic differences have been correlated with differences in physiology and physical activity patterns of these animals. The present data suggests that a gradual reduction in the number of lymphocytes and an increase in the number of neutrophils occurred during the course of the evolution of primates.