Transcript Vet Med Introduction - Agricultural Education

Introduction to Veterinary Medicine
Submitted by Callie Parr and used in cooperation with the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.
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INTRODUCTION TO VETERINARY MEDICINE, by CALLIE PARR
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Introduction to
Veterinary Medicine
What is it?
 Veterinary Medicine is the medical treatment of animals.
How is it different from a
Doctor?
 Must know many different species.
 Must know many areas such as internal medicine, pediatrics,
obstetrics, surgery, etc.
 Can’t talk to the patient
What animals does a Vet
treat?
 Pets, livestock, lab animals, zoo animals, wildlife
What is the History of Vet
Med?
 Veterinary Medicine developed alongside
human medical advancements.
 Recorded references as early as 9000 bc in the
Middle Eastern sheparding cultures.
 Hieroglyphs in Egypt refer to placing stones in a
female camel’s uterus to prevent pregnancy.
 In American West a veterinarian would find
themselves treating animals and people alike
because of their skills in many areas.
What are the Career
options in Vet Med?
 Veterinarian
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Small Animal
Large Animal
Exotic
Zoological
Veterinary Technologist
Veterinary Assistant
Clinical Pathologist
Academia
What education is needed
for Veterinary Medicine?
 A DVM needs 8 years of post secondary
education.
 There are 28 schools of veterinary medicine in the country.
 A Vet Tech needs 4 years of post secondary
education.
 A Vet assistant can have 2-4 years of post
secondary education.
 A pathologist will need 4-6 years of post
secondary education
Duties in Veterinary
Medicine
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Breed selection
Nutrition
Grooming
Training
General husbandry
Vaccination
Spay/neuter
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Treat illness/injury
Health screening
Treat parasites
Provide referrals
Humane euthanasia
Allay concerns of
owner
How does someone in Vet
Med contribute to society?
 By Promoting animal health and welfare.
 By Combating zoonotic diseases.
 By inspecting livestock and food-processing
procedures to ensure safety of food supply.
 By preserving and conserving wildlife.
 By conducting scientific research that impacts
the food we eat, the medicine we take, etc.
Veterinary Medical
Terminology
On the body:
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Dorsal - toward the ceiling or back
Ventral - toward the floor or belly
Cranial/anterior - toward the head
Caudal/posterior - toward the butt rear
Lateral - toward the side
Medial - toward the midline
On the limbs:
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Proximal - toward the body
Distal - away from the body
Palmar - the front foot pads
Plantar - the rear foot pads
On the head:
 Rostral – toward the nose
 Caudal – toward the tail/rear
Movement:
 Flexion - decreasing a joint’s angle
 Extension - increasing a joint’s angle
Suffixes
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…ectomy – to remove ______
…itis – inflammation of ______
…ose – sugar
…ase – enzyme
…gen – producing
…tomy – incision
…emia – blood
…oid - resemble
Suffixes cont.
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… oma – tumor/swelling
…osis/iasis – abnormal
…sclerosis – hardening
…plegia – paralysis
…rrhea – discharge
…rrhage – burst forth
…ptosis – prolapse/falling out
…spasm - contraction
Prefixes
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Hema/o… - having to do with the blood
Hyper… - increased levels/activity of ______
Hypo… - decreased levels/activity of _______
Hetero… - different
Homo… - the same
Psuedo… - false
Anti… - against
Peri… - around
Prefixes cont.
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Tachy… - fast
Mega/macro… - large
Micro… - small
Poly… - many
Pan… - all
Hap/mono… - one
Di… - two
A… - none/not
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Prim… - first
Iso… - equal
Ambi… - both
Laevo… - left
Dextro… - right
Trans… - through
Ex/o… - out
End/o… - in
Prefixes cont.
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Brachy… - short
Steno… - narrow
Ortho… - straight
Leuk/o… - white
Cirrh/o… - yellow
Chlor/o… - green
Melan… - black
Glauc/o… - grey
Misc terms
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Malignant – cancerous
Benign – non-cancerous
Local – in one specific location
General – all over or in many locations
Acute – rapid onset
Palpate – to feel by hand
Feces/fecal – excrement
Triage – to collect information and assess
the situation
Misc Terms
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Infectious – can be spread
Diagnosis – to determine a cause for symptoms
Prognosis – how it will turn out
Congenital – with/upon/before birth
Appendages – arms or legs
Digits – fingers or toes
Vestigial – non-functional
Phalanges – fingers/toes
Clinical Experience
 You will be required to complete and document 10
clinical hours.
 Clinical hours include working with animals in any
structured environment.
 Examples are:
 working at a vets office cleaning cages, feeding, etc.
 Working at a local animal shelter cleaning cages, feeding,
socializing, etc.
 Working at a barn/stable
 Documentation comes in the form of detailed records
listing days & hours worked, tasks completed, and
skills learned. Signed by the owner/ operator/
manager.