A veterinarian (vet) is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal reproduction, health management, conservation, husbandry and breeding and preventive medicine like nutrition, vaccination and parasitic control as well as biosecurity and zoonotic disease surveillance and prevention.
Gastric dilatation volvulus (GDV), also known as gastric dilation, twisted stomach, or gastric torsion, is a medical condition that affects dogs and rarely cats and guinea pigs, in which the stomach becomes overstretched and rotated by excessive gas content. The condition also involves compression of the diaphragm and caudal vena cavae. The word bloat is often used as a general term to mean gas distension without stomach torsion, or to refer to GDV.
Neutering, from the Latin neuter, is the removal of a non-human animal's reproductive organ, either all of it or a considerably large part. The male-specific term is castration, while spaying is usually reserved for female animals. Colloquially, both terms are often referred to as fixing. In male horses, castrating is referred to as gelding. An animal that has not been neutered is sometimes referred to as entire or intact.
The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, referred to as The Merck Manual, is the world's best-selling medical textbook, and the oldest continuously published English language medical textbook. First published in 1899, the current print edition of the book, the 20th Edition, was published in 2018. In 2014, Merck decided to move The Merck Manual to digital-only, online publication, available in both professional and consumer versions; this decision was reversed in 2017, with the publication of the 20th edition the following year. The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy is one of several medical textbooks, collectively known as The Merck Manuals, which are published by Merck Publishing, a subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company Merck Co., Inc. in the United States and Canada, and MSD in other countries in the world. Merck also formerly published The Merck Index, An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals.
Onychectomy, popularly known as declawing, is an operation to remove an animal's claws surgically by means of the amputation of all or part of the distal phalanges, or end bones, of the animal's toes. Because the claw develops from germinal tissue within the third phalanx, amputation of the bone is necessary to fully remove the claw. The terms onychectomy and declawing imply mere claw removal, but a more appropriate description would be phalangectomy, excision of toe bone.
The Dobermann is a German breed of medium-large working dog of pinscher type. It was originally bred in Thuringia in about 1890 by Louis Dobermann, a tax collector. It has a long muzzle and – ideally – an even and graceful gait. The ears were traditionally cropped and the tail docked, practices which are now illegal in many countries.
The health of dogs is a well studied area in veterinary medicine.
Phycomycosis is an uncommon condition affecting the gastrointestinal tract and skin, most commonly found in dogs and horses. The condition is caused by various molds and fungi, with individual forms including pythiosis, zygomycosis, and lagenidiosis. Pythiosis, the most common type, is caused by Pythium, a type of water mould. Zygomycosis can be caused by two types of zygomycetes: Entomophthorales and Mucorales. The latter type of zygomycosis is also referred to as mucormycosis. Lagenidiosis is caused by a Lagenidium species, which like Pythium is a water mould. Since both pythiosis and lagenidiosis are caused by organisms from the Oomycetes and not the kingdom fungi, they are sometimes collectively referred to as oomycosis.
Pythiosis is a rare and deadly tropical disease caused by the oomycete Pythium insidiosum. Long regarded as being caused by a fungus, the causative agent was not discovered until 1987. It occurs most commonly in horses, dogs, and humans, with isolated cases in other large mammals. The disease is contracted after exposure to stagnant fresh water such as swamps, ponds, lakes, and rice paddies. P. insidiosum is different from other members of the genus in that human and horse hair, skin, and decaying animal and plant tissue are chemoattractants for its zoospores. Additionally, it is the only member in the genus known to infect mammals, while other members are pathogenic to plants and are responsible for some well-known plant diseases.
Ectopia lentis is a displacement or malposition of the eye's lens from its normal location. A partial dislocation of a lens is termed lens subluxation or subluxated lens; a complete dislocation of a lens is termed lens luxation or luxated lens.
Feline viral rhinotracheitis (FVR) is an upper respiratory or pulmonary infection of cats caused by Felid alphaherpesvirus 1 (FeHV-1), of the family Herpesviridae. It is also commonly referred to as feline influenza, feline coryza, and feline pneumonia but, as these terms describe other very distinct collections of respiratory symptoms, they are misnomers for the condition. Viral respiratory diseases in cats can be serious, especially in catteries and kennels. Causing one-half of the respiratory diseases in cats, FVR is the most important of these diseases and is found worldwide. The other important cause of feline respiratory disease is feline calicivirus.
Enrofloxacin, sold under the brand name Baytril, among others, is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic used for the treatment of animals. It is a bactericidal agent.
Listeriosis is an infectious but not contagious disease caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, far more common in domestic animals, especially ruminants, than in human beings. It can also occur in feral animals—among others, game animals—as well as in poultry and other birds.
Veterinary chiropractic, also known as animal chiropractic, is chiropractic for animals – a type of spinal manipulation. Veterinary chiropractors typically treat horses, racing greyhounds, and pets. Veterinary chiropractic is a controversial method due to a lack of evidence as to the efficacy of chiropractic methods. Contrary to traditional medicine, chiropractic therapies are alternative medicine. There is some degree of risk associated with even skilled manipulation in animals as the potential for injury exists with any technique used. The founder of chiropractic, Daniel David Palmer, used the method on animals, partly to challenge claims that the placebo effect was responsible for favorable results in humans. Chiropractic treatment of large animals dates back to the early 1900s. As of 2019, many states in the US provide statutory or regulatory guidelines for the practice of chiropractic and related treatments on animals, generally requiring some form of veterinary involvement.
The Merck Manuals are medical references published by the American pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., that cover a wide range of medical topics, including disorders, tests, diagnoses, and drugs. The manuals have been published since 1899, when Merck & Co. was still a subsidiary of the German company Merck.
Rage syndrome is a rare seizure disorder in dogs, characterized by explosive aggression.
Dog appeasing pheromone (DAP), sometimes known as apasine, is a mixture of esters of fatty acids released by the sebaceous glands in the inter-mammary sulcus of lactating female dogs. It is secreted from between three and four days after parturition and two to five days after weaning. DAP is believed to be detected by the vomeronasal organ and has an appeasing effect on both adults and pups, and assists in establishing a bond with the mother.
Miller's Anatomy of the Dog is a veterinary textbook which was first published in 1964. It deals with the structure, organs and tissues of the dog. The fifth edition was published in 2020.
Frank J. M. Verstraete is a Belgian veterinary dentist and oral surgeon, academic scholar, and author. He is a Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Davis.
