Veterinary Science

Summary

Veterinary science is a medical science dealing with the study, research, prevention, and treatment of disease in animals and the relation of animal disease to human health. It deals with the health of individual animals and groups of animals. Veterinary scientists include veterinarians who treat animal patients, research veterinary scientists who work in academic and private research laboratories, and technicians and technologists who assist veterinarians and veterinarian scientists. Veterinarians provide healthcare to companion animals and livestock. They play an important role in maintaining a wholesome food supply. Veterinary scientists involved in research are instrumental in developing medicine, treatments, and surgical procedures applicable to humans and animals.

Definition and Basic Principles

Veterinary science is a medical science that deals with all aspects of healthcare provided to animals. It includes the areas of medical, surgical, dental, and ophthalmic treatment used to prevent and cure disease in animals and research in these areas. Biology is the base science from which veterinary science evolves; veterinary scientists must have an extensive knowledge of the structure of the tissues and organs of each animal species they treat. Knowledge of organ function and homeostasis of each species from both a physiological and a biochemical basis is essential. Familiarity with disease-causing agents, such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites, is important in veterinary science. In addition to knowing the causes of disease in animals, veterinary scientists must understand pathogenesis (how a disease develops), including immune and inflammatory responses and tumor development. Veterinary science also relies heavily on the principles of pharmacology and toxicology. Safe and effective treatment of disease is based on knowledge of the effects and interactions of drugs and their toxicity levels in various animal species. The toxicology of plants and poisonous substances found naturally in the environment and those manufactured by human beings is also essential to the working knowledge of the veterinarian.

Understanding animal behavior and husbandry is an integral part of veterinary science. Veterinarians work in hands-on situations with animals and must understand the psychology of animals to ensure the safety of both the handlers and the animals. Proper restraint of animals during procedures that are often unpleasant is of the utmost importance. Animal husbandry plays an important role in the veterinary scientist's work with the herds and flocks of animals raised for food and other animal products. Thorough knowledge of animal nutrition, the physiology and endocrinology of reproduction, genetics, and housing requirements are the basis of the successful management of herds and flocks.

Background and History

Veterinary science did not develop as a discipline until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. However, the care of animals and concern for their well-being dates back to early civilizations in Egypt, India, and Rome. Throughout the Middle Ages and during the seventeenth century, “veterinary medicine” was performed primarily by farriers, or horseshoers, because horses were necessary for transportation, farming, and waging war. Treatment was primitive and often very ineffective.

Veterinary science as a discipline originated in 1762, when a veterinary school was founded in Lyon, France, by Claude Bourgelat. Before the end of the century, schools had been established in Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Sweden. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons was established in England in 1844. In the United States, the American Veterinary Medical Association was created in 1863, and the first college of veterinary medicine was created in 1879 at Iowa State University.

As long as the horse continued to play a major role in farming and transportation, veterinary science focused on equine care. However, advances in medical science and the understanding of disease pathology in the early twentieth century fostered the field of public health veterinary medicine. In the 1920s, as farming became more mechanized and the horse's role diminished, small-animal practice became a more important part of veterinary medicine. During the second half of the twentieth century, as the population in the United States became increasingly urban and more people began keeping companion animals, the number of small-animal practices increased. Specialization and technologically advanced procedures became major components of the field of veterinary practice.

In the twenty-first century, veterinary science has become a broad field in which specialization plays an increasing role. Changing attitudes toward animals and their welfare have expanded the field to include more emphasis on animal nutrition, animal behavior, and areas of animal welfare, such as environmental enrichment. Veterinarians also play a more signifcant role in disease prevention and public health as these issues have become global issues involving both animals and human beings.

How It Works

Examination. Veterinarians perform complete physical examinations of their animal patients to determine their state of health. The examination begins with observation of the animal for visible signs of illness or injury, such as lameness, wounds, evidence of external parasites, and tumors. Female animals may also be examined for signs of pregnancy. Vital signs, including temperature, respiratory rate, and heart rate, are taken. Veterinarians use equipment, such as stethoscopes, thermometers, otoscopes, weight scales, and fluorescent and ultraviolet lights, during the examination. If warranted, the examination also includes taking samples of blood, urine, fecal matter, and skin. Aspirations of fluid from the lungs and abdomen and a transtracheal wash are other means of gathering samples that are available to the veterinarian. Collected samples are either examined in-house or sent to diagnostic laboratories. Ultrasound and X-rays are important diagnostic tools in the modern veterinary clinic. More invasive examination processes include biopsy and exploratory surgery. The results of these investigations provide the information necessary for the veterinarian to make a diagnosis.

Diagnosis and Prognosis. Having gathered the evidence from the examination, the veterinarian assesses the state of the animal's health and diagnoses any disease, illness, or injury found. If disease, illness, or injury is found, the veterinarian states its possible outcome, along with available treatments and their efficacy. Treatments can be cures or palliative measures in cases of terminal or chronic illness. Referral to a specialist or veterinary college hospital may be made. In cases of terminal, incurable, or severely crippling or painful chronic conditions, euthanasia may be advised. In some circumstances, veterinarians advise postponing euthanasia until the animal's quality of life is substantially decreased and instead prescribe palliative treatment that will provide an acceptable quality of life for some time.

Veterinarians have many different tools, products, and options for treating disease. Medicines, such as antibiotics, urinary acidifiers, anthelmintics, steroids, and pain relievers, may be administered by mouth or injection. Intravenous fluids, oxygen therapy, surgery, and many other procedures are performed by veterinarians in small private clinics. More advanced treatments, such as the implantation of pacemakers, hip replacements, or cataract removal, are performed by veterinarians in university veterinary hospitals or specialized clinics.

Preventive and Cosmetic Treatment. Veterinarians also perform procedures and prescribe medicines to prevent disease and illness, make animals more manageable, prevent unwanted pregnancy, and make cosmetic changes. Veterinarians in all types of practices establish schedules and administer vaccinations to their patients. Veterinarians prescribe medicines to prevent heartworm in small animals and to control fleas and other external parasites. They prescribe anthelmintics to control or eliminate internal parasites in both small and large animals. In small-animal practices, they perform spay and neuter operations, which help control the overpopulation of dogs and cats. Declawing of cats can also be done, although the practice is considered cruel in the twenty-first century. Tail docking, ear trimming, and dewclaw removal are some of the procedures done on dogs for cosmetic reasons. In a farm setting, veterinarians castrate, dehorn, and debeak animals and poultry. Veterinarians in private practice refer animals that require specialized treatment or highly technical surgeries to special clinics or university animal hospitals.

Experimentation. Veterinarians in academic research laboratories and other research facilities perform experimental studies and surgeries on animals to develop new medicines, treatments, and surgeries to improve the healthcare available to human beings and other animals. They also conduct nutritional and management studies to improve the quality of meat produced from animals and poultry.

Euthanasia. Euthanasia, the humane termination of an animal's life, varies considerably by the type of practice and the situation encountered. In small-animal and equine practice, the veterinarian is most often dealing with an emotionally charged situation. Very strong bonds develop between these animals and their owners; many of the owners are emotionally dependent on their animal companion or equine partner. Therefore, the veterinarian and their staff must be prepared to counsel the owner and assist the individual in the grieving process after the death of the animal. Often, special arrangements are made to ensure privacy and give the owner time to cope with the actual euthanasia. Euthanasia is also performed on unwanted or unadoptable animals at animal shelters. This practice is disturbing to many people, and some cities have established no-kill shelters, and animal rescue groups have been created to help many of these animals.

In the euthanization of wildlife or livestock, where the major reason for euthanasia is eradication of disease from the herd, flock, or wildlife population, the veterinarian faces a very different situation. For example, in cases of H5 avian influenza, entire flocks of birds may need to be eradicted. Euthanasia is also performed on wildlife or livestock to eliminate suffering in cases of terminal illness or severe injury. Economics and management are the primary concerns of livestock owners.

Zoo animals are often traded or sold to other zoos, so their handlers and keepers are usually more detached from them than pet owners but have more affection for them than livestock owners. Therefore, if veterinarians are called on to euthanize zoo animals, they encounter a range of attitudes and varying depths of attachment.

Euthanasia of laboratory animals is part of the normal routine in an experimental laboratory. Often the animal must be destroyed for scientists to perform tests that determine the effectiveness of medicines and procedures. Many or most of the animals cannot be used in other experiments, so it is also a means of controlling costs and saving space. Although many people are not troubled by this practice, especially when it involves animals, such as rats or mice, the fate of primates, including chimpanzees, used in experiments gave rise to many organizations that have created sanctuaries for these animals.

Applications and Products

Companion Animals. In companion or small-animal practices, veterinarians apply their knowledge of animal physiology and function, disease pathology, and treatment of disease, illness, and injury to care for dogs, cats, and other small animals kept as pets or companions by individuals and families. They also use their knowledge of animal behavior and requirements for animal well-being to help pet owners solve behavior problems, such as excessive barking, furniture scratching, aggression, and improper elimination. Because of the close bond between many pet owners and their animal companions, small-animal veterinarians also use their understanding of these bonds to respond compassionately to the concerns and emotional needs of their clients.

Farm Animals. Veterinary science is an essential element in the raising of animals for food. Veterinarians who treat livestock and poultry travel from farm to farm and carry their equipment with them. These veterinarians are on call twenty-four hours a day and often work in difficult conditions. Veterinarians provide the knowledge and expertise necessary to maintain disease-free herds and flocks. They also advise livestock farms about genetics, breeding, nutrition, housing, and problems related to animal behavior. Veterinarians make regularly scheduled visits to livestock operations to prevent outbreaks of disease in the herds or flocks. Through the healthcare they provide to food animals, veterinarians contribute to the production of meat, eggs, leather goods, wool goods, and other animal-derived products available in the marketplace.

Meat and Poultry Products Safety. Veterinary science also addresses the relationship and interaction of disease in animals with disease in humans. About eight hundred diseases can be transmitted from animals or animal products to human beings. Therefore, many veterinarians are employed in the public health sector at the federal and state levels. Public health veterinarians are rarely involved in the actual treatment of animals but rather initiate and supervise programs for the destruction of infected animals. They work as inspectors, advisers, and educators regarding animal disease control and food safety. They inspect meat and poultry plants while bringing meat and poultry products to the consumer. They enforce government regulations regarding the humane transport and slaughter of animals, handling the meat or poultry during processing, and transporting the products to the point of sale. They are also involved in work in pathology and epidemiology and play a significant role in major occurrences of foodborne illness. These veterinarians have become increasingly important in the twenty-first century as the world remained wary following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Equine, Zoo, and Wildlife Management. Veterinarians with a concentration in equine medicine deal primarily with preventing infectious diseases, such as encephalitis and West Nile virus, lameness, infertility, and gastrointestinal illness. They also commonly deal with breeding and obstetric care. Veterinarians working with zoo and wildlife populations have special training. In zoos, they address injury, nutrition, behavior, and environment. Wildlife veterinarians work with conservation officers to ensure the continuance and health of wildlife populations and to prevent the spread of disease from these populations to domestic animals and humans.

Biomedical Research. Veterinarians in charge of laboratory animals are responsible for the health and well-being of the animals used in the laboratory. They may oversee as many as 70,000 such animals, many of which are genetically engineered mice. They supervise teams of veterinary technicians and other trained personnel who take care of these animals daily. They also assess proposed experiments and evaluate how well they conform to regulations regarding laboratory animals.

Veterinarians with postgraduate training in specialized areas, such as cardiology, work as research scientists in academic laboratories and other research facilities. They perform experimental research using live animals or computer-generated programs to develop new antibiotics, vaccines, and surgical procedures that benefit animals and humans. Those who are doing research at veterinary colleges usually teach classes as well.

Careers and Course Work

Preparation for a career in veterinary science requires a combination of undergraduate courses in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Courses in English and the humanities are also necessary for admission to a veterinary college. The completion of a graduate program leading to the Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and a passing score on the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam are required for a veterinarian to be admitted to practice. Individuals who wish to specialize or become research veterinarians or professors must complete a one-year internship and a three- to four-year residency program. Careers in private practice, research, zoos, wildlife management, and public health are open to individuals trained in veterinary science.

Other careers in veterinary science requiring less study and training are those of veterinary technician (two-year program) or technologist (four-year program). Veterinary technicians and technologists work in clinics and research facilities. They assist veterinarians with animals in the examination room and the surgical room and are responsible for the daily care of hospitalized and laboratory animals. They also perform laboratory procedures, keep records, and assist with client education. In some cases, institutions offer a Master's program in laboratory animal science for those who want to specialize in this area or get this education in preparation for veterinary school.

Social Context and Future Prospects

Veterinarians are vital in modern society and are respected as critical community members. Livestock producers depend on them for successful management of their herds and flocks. Veterinarians in public health positions ensure the safety of the world's food supply, which has proven particularly important as the world's population has only continued to increase. Additionally, outbreaks of diseases believed to be transmitted from animals to humans, such as the Ebola virus or avian bird flu, further highlighted the value of integrating veterinary science in biomedical research to understand better and control the spread of these diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic that encompassed the world in the early 2020s began with the transmission from bat to human, much like Ebola. Veterinarians remain on the frontlines of preventing future pandemics. Many owners of companion animals depend on veterinarians and value them as much as they do the family doctor. Many segments of society highly value research veterinarians. However, animal welfare and animal rights movements have surrounded the use of animals in research with emotionally charged controversy. In 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that the agency planned to phase out mammal animal research by 2035 due to ethical challenges to using animals for chemical testing.

Only a small percentage of those who apply to veterinary college are accepted. However, those who complete their studies have excellent prospects for employment. The increase in the number of companion animals, especially cats, and their significant role as family members ensures a continuing need for small-animal hospitals and specialized clinics. Shortages of veterinarians in farm animal practice, in the public health sector, and research facilities offer excellent opportunities for employment in these sectors. The field of biomedical research is constantly expanding. With the new areas of stem cell research and cloning, the need for veterinarians in charge of laboratory animals and research veterinarians should continue to increase. 

Bibliography

Amin, Priya. “How Did Coronavirus Get Transferred from Animals to Humans? Scientists May Have an Answer.” ABC News, 17 Sept. 2020, abcnews.go.com/Health/coronavirus-transferred-animals-humans-scientists-answer/story?id=73055380. Accessed 31 May 2024.

“Avian Influenza Weekly Update Number 948 Human Infection with Avian Influenza A(H5) Viruses.” World Health Organization (WHO), 24 May 2024, cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/wpro---documents/emergency/surveillance/avian-influenza/ai‗20240524.pdf?sfvrsn=5f006f99‗132. Accessed 31 May 2024.

Hanie, Elizabeth A. Large Animal Clinical Procedures for Veterinarian Technicians. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby, 2005.

Hosey, Geoff, et al. Zoo Animals: Behaviour, Management and Welfare. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.

Lawhead, James, and MeeCee Baker. Introduction to Veterinary Science. 2d ed. Clifton Park, N.Y.: Delmar, Cengage Learning, 2009.

Margolies, Jane. "Vets Go Upscale to Care for Pets (and Their Owners)." The New York Times, 26 May 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/05/25/business/vets-pet-care-pandemic.html. Accessed 31 May 2024.

McGavin, M. Donald, and James F. Zachary. Pathologic Basis of Veterinary Disease. 4th ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Elsevier Mosby, 2007.

Rollin, Bernard E. An Introduction to Veterinary Medical Ethics: Theory and Cases. 2d ed. Ames, Iowa: Blackwell, 2006.

Smith, Gary, and Alan M. Kelly, eds. Food Security in a Global Economy: Veterinary Medicine and Public Health. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008.