Veterinary Medicine

I

Introduction

Veterinary Medicine, branch of medical science that deals with the health and welfare of animals. Doctors of veterinary medicine diagnose and treat the diseases and injuries of household pets, livestock, laboratory animals, zoo animals, and wildlife (see Diseases of Animals). They promote public health by combating zoonotic diseases (animal diseases that can be transmitted to humans) and by inspecting livestock and food processing procedures to insure a safe food supply. Some veterinarians actively participate in wildlife preservation and conservation, while others conduct scientific research into the causes and prevention of disease.

Veterinary medicine is a challenging field. One significant difference between human and animal medicine is that veterinarians must be familiar with the anatomy and diseases of several different species. An appropriate treatment for one species might be ineffective or harmful if applied to another. Veterinarians must be proficient in both medicine and surgery, and be well versed in areas such as pediatrics, obstetrics, anesthesiology, plastic surgery, dentistry, dermatology, geriatrics, and orthopedics. They must deduce problems without sharing a single spoken word with the patient. Many veterinarians, therefore, are acute diagnosticians with top-notch powers of observation and intuition.

II

Modern Veterinary Care

The majority of veterinarians in the United States practice medicine in private hospitals and clinics. Of these, about 60 percent treat small animals such as cats and dogs exclusively; about 10 percent treat large animals such as cattle and other livestock; and about 5 percent specialize in horses. The remainder treat both large and small animals. Veterinarians in the United States also work in corporations or public institutions, such as pharmaceutical companies, colleges or universities, or in local, state, or federal government agencies such as the United States Army Veterinary Corps.

Typical small-animal veterinarians are family advisers as well as animal healthcare providers. They may help clients select an appropriate species or breed of pet and then guide them in the proper nutrition, grooming, training, and general husbandry of their new pet. A large portion of this practice involves preventive care, such as vaccinating, screening, and treating animals for internal and external parasites, as well as performing operations that prevent pets from bearing unwanted offspring. Small-animal veterinarians also treat their patients’ illnesses and injuries, address the owners’ concerns, and provide referrals to specialists when necessary. Another important responsibility of veterinarians is to provide humane euthanasia.

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Owners often regard pets as family members and expect them to receive the same compassion and caliber of medical care as human patients. Many veterinarians now use sophisticated diagnostic equipment such as endoscopes (fiber-optic devices for looking inside the body) and ultrasound machines (devices that use sound waves to create images of internal structures). Medical and surgical procedures once considered unsuitable or impossible in animals, such as open heart surgery and total hip replacement, are now alleviating suffering and saving lives.

Large-animal veterinarians work primarily with livestock. Like small-animal veterinarians, they perform vaccinations, parasite control, and neutering, but there are several important differences. Large-animal veterinarians often treat groups of animals rather than individuals. They insure that infectious diseases do not spread from farm to farm. Furthermore, unlike the pets treated by small-animal veterinarians, most patients of large-animal veterinarians are viewed from the standpoint of their economic potential rather than their value as a family companion.

Large-animal veterinarians may be consulted about a Guernsey cow with poor milk production, for example, or a flock of lambs that is failing to thrive. They may perform artificial insemination on a herd of cows, treat a horse with colic (severe abdominal pain), or assist a sow in delivering its piglets. Large-animal medicine and surgery is often practiced in stables, barns, and open fields rather than in animal hospitals. Veterinarians must, therefore, carry medicine and instruments with them wherever they go to face almost any challenge.

The zoo veterinarian attends to the needs of every animal in the zoo habitat, from the tiniest shrew to the largest elephant, monitoring diet, dental health, and even reproduction. Zoo veterinarians perform blood tests, vaccinations, routine examinations, and even surgery. They manage endangered species to encourage successful mating and reproduction. For pandas, which are solitary in the wild, this might involve isolating individuals during the nonbreeding season, and then bringing a pair together to mate when the time is right.

Veterinarians employed in regulatory medicine are responsible for controlling or eliminating certain diseases and protecting the public from animal diseases that can affect people. As food inspectors, they identify diseased livestock and unsafe meat and poultry. Regulatory medicine veterinarians also prevent foreign diseases from entering the country by enforcing quarantines and inspecting animals. They supervise interstate shipments of animals, test for the presence of diseases, and manage campaigns to prevent and eradicate diseases that threaten animal and human health such as tuberculosis, undulant fever, and rabies.

Some public health veterinarians evaluate the safety of food processing plants, restaurants, and water supplies. Those in environmental health programs study and evaluate how various pesticides, industrial pollutants, and other contaminants affect human and animal populations. Other public health veterinarians are epidemiologists (specialists who study the cause and incidence of diseases). Public health veterinarians employed in government and private laboratories provide important diagnostic and testing services. They might, for example, inspect beef to insure that it does not contain Escherichia coli bacteria or chicken to ensure that it is free of Salmonella bacteria.

III

Veterinary Training

To become a veterinarian, students must complete an undergraduate course of study that typically includes basic language and communication skills, social sciences, humanities, mathematics, chemistry, and the biological and physical sciences. Most students enter veterinary school after four undergraduate years, although some are ready in three years. Applicants must take the Veterinary Aptitude Test (VAT), Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

Twenty-eight colleges and schools of veterinary medicine in the United States are accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). The four-year curriculum is usually divided into two phases. The emphasis of the first phase is on preclinical sciences such as anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, and microbiology. Students spend the majority of their time in classrooms and laboratories. The second phase of veterinary education is more clinical, covering the principles of medicine and surgery through class work and hands-on experience. At this point students treat animals, perform surgery, and interact with clients under the supervision of staff veterinarians. They also study infectious and noninfectious diseases, diagnostic and clinical pathology, obstetrics, radiology, clinical medicine, anesthesiology, and surgery. Courses in public health, preventive medicine, toxicology, clinical nutrition, professional ethics, and business are also offered. By graduation, students have spent an estimated 4,000 hours in the classroom, laboratory, and clinic. Traditionally a male profession, veterinary medicine has seen a substantial increase of female practitioners in recent years.

New veterinarians can go right to work once they have received a license in the state in which they plan to practice. They do not have to complete an internship, although internships and residencies are available. These positions are filled by people who want to sharpen their skills or intend to achieve advanced qualification or board certification in a recognized specialty field such as ophthalmology, radiology, or laboratory animal medicine. These individuals complete a two- to five-year residency program and must pass an examination that demonstrates proficiency in their area of specialization.

IV

History of Veterinary Medicine

The history of veterinary medicine is closely tied to the development of human medicine. Rudimentary medical skills are thought to have existed as early as 9000 bc among Middle Eastern shepherding cultures. These skills developed further in the hands of Egyptians from about 4000 to 300 bc. Archaeologists have discovered papyrus fragments from an Egyptian medical textbook from around 1850 bc that describe diseases of cattle, dogs, birds, and fish. The fragments show that ancient Egyptians understood veterinary anatomy, recognized signs indicating certain diseases, and practiced specific methods of treatment. Evidence of animal medicine has also been found in other ancient civilizations, such as those of the Hindus, Babylonians, Hebrews, Arabs, Greeks, and Romans.

The first veterinary school was founded in Lyons, France, in 1761. Later known as the Royal Veterinary School, its purpose was to provide study in the anatomy and diseases of horses, cattle, and sheep. The first American veterinary institution, the Veterinary College of Philadelphia, operated from 1852 to 1866. The School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, established in 1883, has the distinction of being the oldest accredited veterinary school currently operating in the United States.

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