Veterinary medicine is the application of medical, diagnostic, and therapeutic principles to companion, domestic, exotic, wildlife, and production animals.

Veterinary medicine is informally as old as the human/animal bond but in recent years has expanded exponentially because of the availability of advanced diagnostic and therapeutic techniques for most species. Animals nowadays often receive advanced medical, dental, and surgical care including insulin injections, root canals, hip replacements, cataract extractions, and pacemakers.

Veterinarians assist in ensuring the quality, quantity, and security of food supplies by working to maintain the health of livestock and inspecting the meat itself. Veterinary scientists are very important in chemical, biological, and pharmacological research.

In many countries, equine veterinary medicine is also a specialized field. Clinical work with horses involves mainly locomotory and orthopaedic problems, digestive tract conditions (including equine colic, which is a major cause of death among domesticated horses), and respiratory tract infections and disorders.

Education in veterinary medicine

Many universities worldwide confer undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in veterinary medicine. In most countries, veterinary practitioners are regulated and registered on a national or state level. While the duration and exact content of undergraduate degrees in veterinary medicine varies, they are typically from 4 to 7 years in duration. They consist of several introductory years which may include some "pre-vet" or general scientific training. These pre-clinical years provide a basis in veterinary anatomy , biochemistry, pharmacology, pathology, parasitology, animal breeding , botany, animal feeding , radiology, virology, microbiology, zoology, animal physiology, physics, chemistry and other important subject areas. The final years of most veterinary medicine degrees consist of a greater proportion of practical clinical work (e.g. internal medicine, dentistry, surgery, obstetrics), in which students are guided to apply the theory they have learned in a supervised environment.

While veterinary medicine is conventionally practiced distinctly from human medicine, the emerging interdisciplinary field of conservation medicine involves both, employing multidisciplinary teams that include medical doctors, veterinarians, environmental scientists, and other researchers and clinicians. In 2004, Australia's Murdoch University School of Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences started courses for a Master degree as well as a Postgraduate Certificate in Veterinary Conservation Medicine.

See also

• Schools of veterinary medicine
• American Veterinary Medical Association
• List of veterinarians

External links

• Pet Medications (Not Public Domain)
• Equine therapies available.
• Murdock University, Perth, Australia, School of Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences offers a Master of Veterinary Studies in Conservation Medicine as well as a Postgraduate Certificate in Veterinary Conservation Medicine

A medical and veterinary Ask A Librarian

• This Ask A Librarian is for Human Medical and Health and Veterinary Information. We can help you locate print and electronic information about human and animal health.The service is free and open to all (at this time - 2/1/05). This 24/7 service is sometimes done in realtime and at others is via email. (NOTE: if/when this link ceases to work please contact: klfirestein@ucdavis.edu and say the wikipedia entry needs updating).