Veterinary medicine, also called veterinary science, medical specialty concerned with the prevention, control, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases affecting the health of domestic and wild animals and with the prevention of transmission of animal diseases to people. Veterinarians ensure a safe food supply for people by monitoring and maintaining the health of food-producing animals.
Persons serving as doctors to animals have existed since the earliest recorded times, and veterinary practice was already established as a specialty as early as 2000 bce in Babylonia and Egypt. The ancient Greeks had a class of physicians who were called horse-doctors, and the Latin term for the specialty, veterinarius (pertaining to beast of burden), came to denote the field in modern times. Today veterinarians serve worldwide in private and corporate clinical practice, academic programs, private industry, government service, public health, and military services. They often are supported in their work by other veterinary medicine professionals, such as veterinary nurses and veterinary technicians.
Veterinary medicine has made many important contributions to animal and human health. Included are dramatic reductions in animal sources of human exposure to tuberculosis and brucellosis. Safe and effective vaccines have been developed for prevention of many companion (pet) animal diseasese.g., canine distemper and feline distemper (panleukopenia). The vaccine developed for control of Mareks disease in chickens was the first anticancer vaccine. Veterinarians developed surgical techniques, such as hip-joint replacement and organ transplants, that were later applied successfully to people.
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animal disease
...and magic. Diseases of animals remain a concern principally because of the economic losses they cause and the possible transmission of the causative agents to humans. The branch of medicine called veterinary medicine deals with the study, prevention, and treatment of diseases not only in domesticated animals but also in wild animals and in animals used in scientific research. The prevention,...
A major challenge to veterinary medicine is adequately attending to the diversity of animal species. Veterinarians address the health needs of domestic animals, including cats, dogs, chickens, horses, cows, sheep, pigs, and goats; wildlife; zoo animals; pet birds; and ornamental fish. The sizes of animals that are treated vary from newborn hamsters to adult elephants, as do their economic values, which range from the undefinable value of pet animal companionship to the high monetary value of a winning racehorse. Medicating this variety of tame and wild animals requires special knowledge and skills.
On the basis of recognition by the World Health Organization (WHO) or the government of a country, there are about 450 veterinary degree programs worldwide. The level of veterinary training varies greatly among the various countries, and only about one-third of these programs designate the degree awarded as a doctors degree. Professional training of veterinarians is commonly divided into two phases. The first, or basic science, phase consists of classroom study and laboratory work in the preclinical sciences, including the fields of anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, toxicology, nutrition, microbiology, and public health. The second phase focuses on the clinical sciences and includes classroom study of infectious and noninfectious diseases, diagnostic and clinical pathology, obstetrics, radiology, anesthesiology, surgery, and practice management and hands-on clinical experience in the colleges veterinary teaching hospital. The clinical experience gives students the opportunity to treat sick animals, perform surgery, and communicate with animal owners. Student activities in the clinical setting are conducted under the supervision of graduate veterinarians on the faculty. Several important opportunities for additional training are available to graduate veterinarians. Internship (one-year) and residency (two-to-five-year) programs enable veterinarians to gain clinical proficiency in one or two medical specialties. Graduate veterinarians can also pursue advanced degree programs. Usually the field of advanced study is medically oriented, but some seek advanced degrees in areas such as business.
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Most clinical-practice veterinarians treat only companion animals and usually within the practices clinic, or animal hospital. A small proportion treat only food-producing animals or horses, most often by traveling to the location of the animal in a vehicle equipped for veterinary services in the field. Most of the remainder in clinical practice are in mixed practices, which deal with both small animals and large domestic animals such as cattle or horses. Some small-animal practices offer services for special species such as ornamental fish, caged birds, and reptiles. Some practices may limit work to a specific medical area such as surgery, dentistry, dermatology, or ophthalmology. Corporate-owned animal hospitals have increased in number and are often combined with a retail outlet for pet supplies.
Veterinarians in academia administer the basic and clinical science programs of veterinary colleges. In addition, they conduct basic and clinical research, the latter of which may involve application of new instrumentation technologies for diagnosis and treatment of animal diseases. Included are echocardiography, laser lithotripsy, endoscopy, nuclear scintigraphy, ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT) scans, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; see nuclear magnetic resonance).
Veterinary medicine intersects with private industry in such areas as marketing of animal-health products, monitoring of animal health in large commercial animal-production programs, and biomedical research. Veterinary specialists in industry work in the fields of toxicology, laboratory animal medicine, pathology, molecular biology, and genetic engineering. Pharmaceutical companies employ veterinarians in the development, safety testing, and clinical evaluation of drugs, chemicals, and biological products such as antibiotics and vaccines for animals and people.
National and local governments employ veterinarians in those agencies charged with public health, protection of the environment, agricultural research, food and drug safety, food-animal inspection, the health of imported animals, and the humane treatment of animals. Veterinarians working in public-health programs, for example, evaluate the safety of food-processing plants, restaurants, and water supplies. They also monitor and help control animal and human disease outbreaks. The increased threat of bioterrorism has given veterinarians vital roles in the protection of the food supply for animals and people and in early detection of use of zoonotic organisms as weapons. Veterinarians also work in aerospace; e.g., they have been scientific advisers on animal use in the U.S. space program and have been members of U.S. space shuttle crews. Veterinarians in military service perform biomedical research, care for military dogs, and protect troops through food-inspection and communicable-disease monitoring-and-control programs.
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See also animal disease.
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veterinary medicine | Britannica.com
- Morehead State Veterinary Technology program ranked 13th in nation, #1 in state - Morehead State University News - April 25th, 2024
- veterinary medicine summary | Britannica - April 25th, 2024
- Veterinary Viewpoints: Severe weather and pets - Oklahoma State University - April 25th, 2024
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- Dyer honored at commissioners meeting - The Tribune | The Tribune - Ironton Tribune - April 16th, 2024
- LSU Vet Med releases male bald eagle that was hit by car in October - WGNO New Orleans - April 16th, 2024
- What Killed Their Pets? Owners Blame Meds, but Vets Aren't Sure - The Wall Street Journal - April 16th, 2024
- 10 best practices to steward a healthy relationship with your veterinarian - Ag Proud - April 16th, 2024
- PVM Faculty Promotions Approved by Purdue University Board of Trustees - Purdue University - April 16th, 2024
- Paws Up - brought to you by the PVM Wellness Committee - Purdue University - April 16th, 2024
- States begin to restrict cattle imports from those with influenza cases - American Veterinary Medical Association - April 16th, 2024
- What does a veterinarian do? - CareerExplorer - March 29th, 2024
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- Protecting Puppies From Parvovirus - Texas A&M Today - Texas A&M University Today - March 29th, 2024
- Veterinary Medicine in the Digital Age - Boehringer Ingelheim - March 29th, 2024
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- AMC expands offerings with enhanced surgical suite - American Veterinary Medical Association - March 29th, 2024
- A soul killer: whats behind the USs critical veterinarian shortage? - The Guardian - February 27th, 2024
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- Inside the Lab Part 2: How DNA researchers are helping crack animal cruelty cases - FOX 35 Orlando - February 27th, 2024
- This University Is Set To Become Just The Second HBCU In The Country To Train Veterinarians - Essence - February 27th, 2024
- USDA offers Grants for veterinarians in designated areas of Virginia - Yahoo News - February 10th, 2024
- Curing Pets With Cannabis as Veterinarians Try CBD and THC - The New York Times - February 10th, 2024
- New emergency vet clinic in Northern Liberties lets owners stay with pet - NBC 10 Philadelphia - February 10th, 2024
- The interview - DVM 360 - February 10th, 2024
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- USDA offers Grants for veterinarians in designated areas of Virginia - WFXRtv.com - February 10th, 2024
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- MJ Wixsom: Emotional blackmail against veterinarians - The Tribune | The Tribune - Ironton Tribune - February 10th, 2024
- NAVC honors 2023 Speakers of the Year - DVM 360 - January 25th, 2024
- Steve Adubato speaks with the dean of Rowan University's first School of Veterinary Medicine - ROI-NJ.com - January 25th, 2024
- Texas A&M Veterinary Clinical Trial Gives Tabby Cat With Chronic Kidney Disease A Second Chance At Life - Texas A&M University Today - January 25th, 2024
- 4th generation takes the reins as Albany veterinary hospital celebrates 90 years of service - OregonLive - January 25th, 2024
- Synovial extramedullary hematopoiesis in a dog in: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association - Ahead of ... - American Veterinary Medical... - January 25th, 2024
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- C-reactive protein concentration has limited value in the diagnosis of meningoencephalitis of unknown origin in dogs - American Veterinary Medical... - January 25th, 2024
- Veterinary profession heading in right direction with mental health - American Veterinary Medical Association - January 25th, 2024
- Veterinarian shortage in Yakima Valley can make it harder to find animal care - Yakima Herald-Republic - January 25th, 2024
- Winter conference explores the future of veterinary medicine industry - foxrochester.com - January 25th, 2024
- Learning outside the curriculum: experiences matter in: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association ... - American Veterinary Medical... - January 25th, 2024
- AI tops the new pet health standards for 2024 - KEVN - January 25th, 2024
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- Dogs' Favorite TV Revealed By Vets - Vision - Newsweek - January 25th, 2024
- Knowing what dogs like to watch could help veterinarians assess their vision - University of Wisconsin-Madison - January 25th, 2024
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- Much-needed veterinarian facility will soon be available in Meadowview - Bristol Herald Courier - January 25th, 2024
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- A Career in Veterinary Medicine - AAVMC - February 24th, 2023
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- Veterinary Hospital | School of Veterinary Medicine - September 20th, 2022
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