veterinary medicine

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The branch of medicine that deals with the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases and injuries of animals, especially domestic animals.

The Indians of North America had no domestic animals until they captured progeny of horses and cattle that had escaped from Spanish explorers during the early sixteenth century, and their animals received only the most primitive veterinary care. Animals brought to the Virginia and New England colonies with the first settlers arrived in a nearly disease-free environment and, despite generally poor care, disease did not become widespread until the late seventeenth century.

Europe had no veterinary schools before 1760, but self-tutored cow doctors and farriers plied their trade and wrote books, some of which found their way to America, and a few early colonists gained local recognition for prowess in animal doctoring. A Virginia lawsuit of 1625, when a William Carter was brought to court over a cow he had guaranteed to cure, provides what is likely the first reference to such a practitioner.

The first American work to discuss animal disease, the anonymous Husband-man's Guide (1710), devoted a dozen pages to "The Experienced Farrier." An early work of some consequence, because it and others of its genre retarded the development of scientific veterinary medicine for nearly a century, was The Citizen and Countryman's Experienced Farrier (1764) by J. Markham, G. Jeffries, and Discreet Indians, which essentially rehashed a wretched British work, Markham's Maister-peece (1610).

Few serious animal diseases broke out in America before 1750; one of the first was "horse catarrh" (equine influenza, still a periodic problem) in 1699 and again in 1732 in New England. Canine distemper is said to have originated in South America in 1735 and by 1760 caused many deaths among dogs along the North Atlantic seaboard. In 1796–1797 a "very fatal" form of feline distemper (a different disease) appeared in New York and Philadelphia, where an estimated nine thousand cats died before it spread over most of the northern states. Rabies, or hydrophobia, was recorded as early as 1753 and reached alarming proportions in many areas by 1770. About 1745 a "mysterious malady" attacked cattle from the Carolinas to Texas and decimated local herds along the way to northern markets. This likely was piroplasmosis (Texas fever), a blood disease transmitted by the cattle tick, which later threatened the entire cattle industry of the United States.

America's first veterinary surgeon was John Haslam, a graduate of the Veterinary College of London (established 1791) who came to New York in 1803. His few writings in the agricultural press mark him as one whose rational practice was ahead of its time. As in Britain, few considered veterinary medicine a fit pursuit for educated persons, and by 1850 only a dozen or so graduate veterinarians practiced in America. Until about 1870 the numerous agricultural journals, several of which advertised "a free horse doctor with every subscription," supplied most contemporary information on animal disease.

In 1807 the eminent physician Benjamin Rush advocated the establishment of a school of veterinary medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, but this did not materialize until 1884. George H. Dadd, a British medical man who had emigrated to America and turned to veterinary practice about 1845, opened a proprietary school, the Boston Veterinary Institute, in 1855. The school had only six graduates when it closed in 1858, and Dadd became better known for two of his several books, The American Cattle Doctor (1850) and The Modern Horse Doctor (1854). Dadd was an early advocate of rational medical treatment and humane surgery, including the use of general anesthesia. Dadd also founded and edited the American Veterinary Journal (1851–1852; 1855–1859). The first veterinary journal to have real impact was the American Veterinary Review, established in 1875 by Alexandre Liautard. The American Veterinary Medical Association purchased the Review in 1915 and since has published it as the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Organized veterinary medicine had its shaky beginning in Philadelphia in 1854, when Robert Jennings, a nongraduate practitioner, helped found the American Veterinary Association. This group was superseded in 1863, when a separate group founded the U.S. Veterinary Medical Association (USVMA) in New York with a London graduate, Josiah H. Stickney of Boston, as its first president. In 1898 the USVMA, which had only belatedly attracted proper support by the still-fledgling veterinary profession, changed its name to the American Veterinary Medical Association. In the years since it has had a major influence on veterinary education and practice.

The veterinary educational system in the United States began with a series of some two dozen proprietary schools, which until 1927 had about eleven thousand graduates, who, for many years, made up the majority of the profession. Following the ill-fated attempt in Boston and another in Philadelphia (1852, no graduates), the New York College of Veterinary Surgeons (1857–1899) became the first viable school, although the American Veterinary College (New York, 1875–1898) soon overshadowed it. Most successful were the schools in Chicago (1883–1920) and Kansas City (1891–1918), with about 4,400 graduates. These schools depended entirely on student fees, offered a two-year curriculum, and emphasized the study of the horse. At the turn of the century, increasing demands for an extension of the period of instruction to three and then four years (now six), together with a broadening of scope to include the study of other species, spelled the doom of schools lacking university support.

Iowa State University founded the first of the university schools (1879), followed by the University of Pennsylvania (1884). By 1918 nine more schools had opened at land grant universities in Ohio, New York, Washington, Kansas, Alabama, Colorado, Michigan, Texas, and Georgia. Increasing demand for veterinary services after World War II resulted, by 1975, in the establishment of a school at Tuskegee Institute and eight at land-grant institutions, mostly in the Midwest, with more schools in the planning stage.

After 1750, records indicate numerous local outbreaks of animal disease, serious enough in some areas to cause considerable hardship, but the isolation of settlements and continuing availability of new land kept animal disease at tolerable levels nationally. The rise of large-scale animal disease in the United States in about 1860 in part explains the formation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1862 and its Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) in 1884. The Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 accelerated the establishment of agricultural colleges, and most of the twenty-two in existence by 1867 offered instruction in veterinary science. Unusually competent educators and researchers staffed many of these departments, such as James Law of Cornell, and many of their early students became prominent veterinary scientists.

With Daniel E. Salmon as its first chief, the BAI formed when efforts by the states to stem the rising tide of animal plagues proved inadequate, threatening the livestock industry of the entire nation with extinction. Contagious pleuropneumonia of cattle originated with a single cow imported from England to New York in 1843, and a major outbreak in Massachusetts in 1859 stemmed from four imported Dutch cows. By 1880 the disease had spread to most of the states east of the Mississippi, and the BAI's first task was to eradicate it by slaughtering infected and exposed cattle, which it accomplished in 1892.

After Theobold Smith discovered the protozoan cause of Texas fever in 1889, Fred L. Kilborne proved, in about 1893, that the cattle tick was the necessary vector in the disease's transmission. Delineation of the tick's life cycle by Cooper Curtice then paved the way for control of the disease by dipping cattle to kill the ticks.

Hog cholera originated in Ohio in 1833, infecting herds throughout the United States by 1870, when losses in the Midwest exceeded $10 million annually. BAI scientists began searching for its cause in 1884, eight years before any viral cause of disease had been demonstrated; discovery of the hog cholera agent in 1904 led to its control by vaccination. However, the use of virulent virus in vaccine maintained a reservoir of the disease, and in 1960 the country began a program of total eradication. In 1974, with the program completed, experts declared the country completely free of hog cholera.

In less than two decades, BAI veterinarians found the means for combating three distinct types of animal plagues by three vastly different means: a bacterial disease by slaughter, a viral disease by vaccination, and, for the first time in the history of medicine, a protozoan infection by elimination of the vector. In the ensuing years veterinarians also eradicated by slaughter several outbreaks of socalled exotic diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease in cattle. These efforts have been successful—the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in England in 2000 did not affect livestock in the United States.

Veterinary practice, which began with self-denominated farriers and cow doctors (who often called themselves veterinary surgeons), shifted to the hands of graduates who, from 1870 to about 1920, were concerned primarily with the horse. Practitioners dealt mainly with individual animals, and veterinary medicine remained more of an art than a science. Attention increasingly turned to cattle and pet animal practice. After World War II employment opportunities for veterinarians broadened greatly, and many graduates entered such areas as public health, laboratory animal medicine, zoo animal practice, medical research, and various specialties including radiology, ophthalmology, and equine practice.

Few women became veterinarians during the early 1900s. By 1950 they constituted only about 4 percent of the workforce, but by 1970 they made up more than 20 percent of student enrollees and increased thereafter. Between 1900 and 1996, 60 percent of veterinary school graduating classes were women. By 1999 about 30 percent of the 59,000 veterinarians in the United States were women, and the numbers were still rising.

Bibliography

Bierer, Bert W. A Short History of Veterinary Medicine in America. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press. 1955.

Dunlop, Robert H. A Short History of Veterinary Medicine in America. St. Louis: Mosby, 1996.

Smithcors, J. F. The American Veterinary Profession: Its Background and Development. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1963.

The study of the diseases of animals including their diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Nowadays this is supplemented by the study of the medicine of herds and flocks as units.

• clinical v. m. — the study of disease by direct examination of the living patient.
• emergency v. m. — that specialty which deals with the acutely ill or injured animal which requires immediate veterinary treatment.
• experimental v. m. — study of the science of healing diseases based on experimentation in animals.
• forensic v. m. — the application of veterinary knowledge to questions of law; in human medicine this is an important subject, called also medical jurisprudence, legal medicine. There is no real counterpart in veterinary science or veterinary medical education, except that most veterinary colleges teach a small segment of a course on the subject.
• group v. m. — the practice of veterinary medicine by a group of veterinarians, usually representing various specialties, who are associated together for the cooperative diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease.
• internal v. m. — that dealing especially with diagnosis and medical treatment of diseases and disorders of internal structures of the body.
• legal v. m. — see forensic veterinary medicine (above).
• nuclear v. m. — that branch of veterinary medicine concerned with the use of radionuclides in the diagnosis and treatment of disease.
• patent v. m. — a drug or remedy protected by a trademark, available without a prescription.
• physical v. m. — that branch of veterinary medicine using physical agents in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. It includes the use of heat, cold, light, water, electricity, manipulation, massage, exercise and mechanical devices.
• preclinical v. m. — the subjects studied in veterinary medicine before the student observes actual diseases in patients.
• preventive v. m. — science aimed at preventing disease.
• proprietary v. m. — any chemical, drug, or similar preparation used in the treatment of diseases, if such article is protected against free competition as to name, product, composition or process of manufacture by secrecy, patent, trademark, or copyright or by other means.
• space v. m. — that branch of aviation medicine concerned with conditions to be encountered by animals in space.
• sports v. m. — the field of veterinary medicine concerned with injuries sustained in athletic endeavors, including their prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
• state v. m. — veterinary medical services supplied by the government.
• tropical v. m. — veterinary medical science as applied to diseases occurring primarily in the tropics and subtropics.

Veterinary medicine is the application of medical, diagnostic, and therapeutic principles to companion, domestic, exotic, wildlife, and production animals. Veterinary science is vital to the study and protection of animal production practices, herd health and monitoring the spread of disease. It requires the acquisition and application of scientific knowledge in multiple disciplines and uses technical skills directed at disease prevention in both domestic and wild animals.

Veterinary science helps safeguard human health through the careful monitoring of livestock, companion animal and wildlife health. Emerging zoonotic diseases around the globe require capabilities in epidemiology and infectious disease control that are particularly well-suited to veterinary science's "herd health" approach.

A veterinary surgeon at work with a black cat.

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.

Veterinary specialization has become more common in recent years. Currently 20 veterinary specialties are recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), including anesthesiology, behavior, dermatology, emergency and critical care, internal medicine, cardiology, oncology, neurology, radiology and surgery. In order to become a specialist, a veterinarian must complete additional training after graduation from veterinary school in the form of an internship and residency and then pass a rigorous examination.

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 occupy important positions in biological, chemical, agricultural and pharmaceutical research.

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

Zoologic medicine, which encompasses the healthcare of zoo and wild animal populations, is another veterinary specialty that has grown in importance and sophistication in recent years as wildlife conservation has become more urgent.

As in the human health field, veterinary medicine (in practice) requires a diverse group of individuals to meet the needs of patients. Veterinarians must complete four years of study in a veterinary school following 3-4 years of undergraduate pre-veterinary work. They then must sit for examination in those states in which they wish to become licensed practitioners. It is widely believed that veterinary school is the hardest to gain acceptance into among the various medical professions. In fact, among medical practitioners, veterinarians are routinely ranked the most intelligent and trustworthy. They are expected to diagnose and treat disease in a variety of different species without benefit of verbal communication with their patients. In addition to veterinarians, many veterinary hospitals utilize a team of veterinary technicians and veterinary assistants to provide care for sick as well as healthy animals. Veterinary technicians are, essentially, veterinary nurses and are graduates of two or four year college-level programs and are legally qualified to assist veterinarians in many medical procedures. Veterinary assistants are not licensed by most states, but can be well-trained through programs offered in a variety of technical schools.

External links

Articles

• The Brown Animal Sanatory Institution - article at Citizendium about a historical veterinary center of research and clinical practice in London.
• Veterinary Medicine - a monthly magazine
• Veterinary Economics - a monthly magazine

Other

• Ask Now , website for locating Human Medical and Health and Veterinary Information
• American Animal Hospital Association Official Site, website for locating companion animal hospitals
• Veterinary MLS, A multiple listing service for the veterinary community
• Veterinary Software Information Clearinghouse, list and reviews of veterinary software packages

Veterinary medicine
Practitioners	Veterinarian • Veterinary pathologist • Veterinary pharmacist • Veterinary surgeon • Veterinary technician • List of veterinarians
Education	Veterinary school • Schools of veterinary medicine • Veterinarian's Oath • American Veterinary Medical Association • Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS) • Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
Other	Veterinary specialties • Veterinary surgery • Veterinary informatics • Veterinary dentistry • Avian veterinarian • Equine veterinarian • Exotic animal veterinarian

Veterinary Specialties
Alternative medicine • Anatomy • Anesthesiology • Behavior • Biotechnology • Cardiology • Clinical pathology • Dentistry • Dermatology • Epidemiology • BioEthics • Genetics • Infectious disease • Informatics • Neurology • Nutrition • Oncology • Ophthalmology • Orthopedics • Pathology • Pharmacology • Practice management • Radiology • Sports medicine • Surgery • Theriogenology • Toxicology

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