University of Edinburgh centre for tropical veterinary medicine Diploma/MSc postgraduate courses

University of Edinburgh centre for tropical veterinary medicine Diploma/MSc postgraduate courses     

From Osler to Olafson. The evolution of veterinary pathology in North America

Most branches of biological science in North America developed first in the United States, and later were taught and practiced in Canada. An exception was veterinary pathology, which as a discipline taught in veterinary colleges and as a field of research, developed first in Canada, and from there crossed the border to the United States. Pathology was first taught at the Montreal Veterinary College, founded in 1866 by Duncan McEachran, a graduate of the Edinburgh Veterinary College. From the outset, he formed a close association with the medical faculty of McGill University, permitting his students to attend the same classes in the basic subjects with the medical students. Eventually, the Montreal Veterinary College became formally affiliated with McGill University, as the Faculty of Comparative Medicine and Veterinary Science. The McGill veterinary faculty was forced to close for economic reasons in 1903, but it left an enduring legacy, particularly in the field of veterinary pathology. The legacy, a novel concept in the 1870's, was that pathology was the cornerstone of a veterinary education; the place where anatomy, physiology, chemistry and botany met with the clinical subjects, and gave the latter meaning. This tradition was formed at the Montreal Veterinary College by the world renowned physician William Osler, North America's leading medical teacher, whom McEachran had invited to teach at the College in 1876 in addition to his duties in the faculty of medicine. Osler had studied with Virchow in Berlin and applied his methods of autopsy technique and of scientific inquiry to his teaching of both human and veterinary pathology at McGill. Osler also undertook investigations into various diseases of domestic animals, at the request of McEachran, who doubled as Chief Veterinary Inspector for the Dominion Department of Agriculture. Osler left McGill University in 1884. Only after that year did other North American veterinary schools adopt pathology as a discipline of instruction. However, by 1884, Osler had already left his indelible imprint on the students (both medical and veterinary) he had taught in Montreal, one of whom took over the teaching of pathology in the veterinary college. Another, who followed Osler's example and also studied in Berlin with Virchow, wrote the first book in the English language on veterinary post mortem technique in 1889.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

All-purpose veterinary education: a personal perspective

The Recognition Lecture is an annual honor awarded by the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) to an individual whose leadership and vision have made significant contributions to academic veterinary medicine and the veterinary profession. In 2011, this prestigious honor was awarded to Dr. Peter Eyre, Dean Emeritus of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM). Dr. Eyre is a fierce advocate for veterinary medical education, with a clear vision of its value in ensuring that veterinarians are well positioned to meet societal needs. Dr. Eyre possesses an international perspective regarding the challenges and problems facing veterinary medical education and has a keen eye for getting to the heart of these challenges. He is known to ask hard questions and propose difficult choices. Dr. Eyre received his undergraduate veterinary degree (BVMS), bachelor of science degree, and PhD from the University of Edinburgh. He was Lecturer in Pharmacology at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies for seven years before joining the faculty of the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College, where he was Chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Associate Director of the Canadian Centre for Toxicology. Dr. Eyre was appointed Dean of the VMRCVM in 1985, where he established the Center for Government and Corporate Veterinary Medicine in 1989. After retiring in 2003, he was named Interim Dean of the University of Calgary's new veterinary school. Among his many awards are the Norden Distinguished Teacher Award and the Sigma Psi Excellence in Research Award. In 2008 the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) honored him with the President's Award, and in 2010 the University of Edinburgh awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery. The Peter Eyre Student Leadership Award at the VMRCVM and the Peter Eyre Prize in Pharmacology at the University of Guelph are both named in his honor. He is a past president of the AAVMC, a fellow and former board member of the American Academy of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and a former member of the AVMA Legislative Advisory Committee. In the following article, Dr. Eyre offers his insights on the current debate about the future of veterinary medical education.     

Mathematics at matriculation level as an indicator of success or failure in the 1st year of the Veterinary Nursing Diploma at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria

Mathematics at matriculation level (Grade 12) is one of the subjects required for admission to the Veterinary Nursing Diploma in the Faculty at Veterinary Science of the University of Pretoria. The present study shows that there is no statistically significant relationship between the grade of mathematics at matriculation level and the success or failure in the 1st year of study. There is, however, a statistical difference in the adjusted mark obtained for mathematics at matriculation level between the groups that passed and failed the 1st year of the veterinary nursing course. The results of this research are not consistent with other research which showed that secondary school mathematics results are not a significant factor in tertiary education. It is recommended that selection criteria for veterinary nurses should in future still include mathematics, but that cognisance should be taken of the mark obtained and students with higher marks (above 57%) given preference.     

The activities of Professor Curt Krause in Bulgaria

Prof. C. Krause spent six years in Bulgaria, from 1928 to 1934. He officially assumed his position on October 10, 1928, as he delivered his opening lecture titled About the past, present and future of the general pathology and pathological anatomy. He worked skillfully and with utmost devotion on the organization of the department of General Pathology and Pathological Anatomy at the Veterinary Faculty. The educational process normalized. Seven students completed their doctoral theses under his leadership and first research assistants were prepared. He lay the foundations of the pathoanatomical museum in his department. Prof. Krauseus contributions to the development of the pathological anatomy in Bulgaria both as a scientific discipline and as a veterinary practice are substantial. In 1939, Prof. Krause received the highest honour for his work in Bulgaria - he was awarded the title of doctor honoris causa of veterinary medicine of the Sofia University.     

David Stewart Christopher

Extract

It is with considerable regret that we record the death, as result of a car accident, of David Stewart Christopher, aged 35, on 11^th December, 1985. David was born in Te Awamutu and attended the local Kihikihi Primary School and Te Awamutu College. David was a skilled sportsman, being a member of the 1^st XV and 1^st XI at College. David left school without completing his University Entrance and worked on his father's farm for a year before completing the exam by correspondence. David then gained his veterinary degree at Massey University, completing this in 1974.     

From atopy to zinc-responsive dermatosis

Anthony Chadwick, winner of the 1997 Frank Beattie Travel Scholarship, reports on his study trip to the USA, where he attended a veterinary dermatology conference in Nashville, Tennessee, and spent two weeks at the dermatology unit of Cornell University     

The ecology of Escherichia coli in animals including man with particular reference to drug resistance

The phenomenon of drug resistance among bacteria, particularly Escherichia coli, has been a major research interest of the University of Bristol's departments of microbiology and veterinary medicine during the past 15 years. Tens of thousands of E coli isolates from man and farm animals have been examined in studies of both the ecology of the species and the epidemiology of their resistance to therapeutic antibacterial agents. The principal findings obtained in these investigations are described.     

Who will regulate the profession under a new Veterinary Surgeons Act?

A resolution by the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in March has set the College on the road towards achieving regulation for all groups of people providing veterinary services, not just veterinary surgeons. Here, Mr Roger Eddy, chairman of the RCVS working party on a new Veterinary Surgeons Act, discusses some of the options being considered by the College, and seeks views on an appropriate way forward     

Obituary

Extract

It is with deep regret that we learn of the death at Palmerston North, in his eighty-first year, of William Maurice Webster. ‘Wally’ as he was affectionately known, really had no desire to enter the veterinary profession, but his father (himself a veterinarian and farmer from Wiltshire County in England) was a man of firm views concerning the career his son should follow. It was thus that in 1922, after 4 years study at the Royal Dick Veterinary College and Edinburgh University, the young Webster completed concurrently the necessary qualifications for both Membership of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the Bachelor of Science degree, the latter with a major in medical physiology.     

Obituary - Dudley Arthur Gill

Extract

D. A. Gill died in Sydney on May 1, 1973, at the age of 72. He received his training at the Royal Veterinary College, London, where he qualified in 1922. He then did a Diploma of Veterinary State Medicine at Edinburgh. He joined the New Zealand Department of Agriculture as a Veterinary Officer and from 1928 he was second in charge at the Wallaceville Veterinary Laboratory. While he was at Wallaceville he did some first-class research on the problems of listeriosis and enterotoxaemia. The house that he built at Wallaceville he later sold to his friend Dr I. J. Cunningham.     

Rebar Named Dean at Purdue

veterinary Practice Publishing Company extends its congratulations to Dr. Alan H. Rebar on his appointment as Dean of Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, effective July 1, 1996. Dr. Rebar served for many years as the editor-in-chief of Veterinary Clinical Pathology.     

Virchow's contributions to veterinary medicine: celebrated then, forgotten now

In 1858, Rudolf Virchow, the professor of pathology in Berlin University, published the book "Cellular Pathology". A compendium of his lectures to physicians and medical students, he introduced the use of microscopy for the study of human diseases. To an astonishing extent Rudolf Virchow was helpful to the disciplines of veterinary medicine (and veterinary pathology). Considered a scientific genius in several disciplines, this essay deals exclusively with the devotion of Virchow, a scholarly physician, to the profession of veterinary medicine. He respected veterinary research, supported governmental veterinary education, and provided a role model for the veterinarians who were drafting control legislation of contagious diseases in livestock. Repeatedly, he responded in help when seemingly irretrievable problems arose. Examples of Virchow's activities in the realms of veterinary medicine and pathology are marshalled here to shed light on this pioneer "veterinary pathologist". In celebration of 50 years of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists in 1999, it is timely to remember that Rudolf Virchow, the father of cellular pathology, also fathered veterinary pathology, whose offsprings in Canada and the U.S.A. (Osler, Clement, Williams, Olafson, Jones) had enabled them to form and foster the A.C.V.P.     

Veterinary medical work of Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben, the first teacher of veterinary medicine in Germany]

Erxleben could be regarded as the founder of the modern, systematic and scientific training of verterinary surgeons in Germany. Thanks to an open-minded up-bringing and a large interest in other scientific fields beyond his medical studies he acquired the ideal basis to turn veterinary medicine into a subject at university. He acquired his knowledge in veterinary medicine by reading numerous veterinary books and by visiting the Netherlands and France and the expert of horses Johann Baptist von Sind. Since 1770 he started with veterinary lessons. When planning his teaching, he tried to avoid the mistakes made by the first schools in France. In order to do so he attached a great importance to a fundamental but practical training. Erxleben also wrote two volumes about veterinary medicine, which he used as a literary basis for his lessons.     

The establishment of the montreal veterinary college 1866/67-1874/75

This essay describes the establishment of the Montreal Veterinary College (MVC) in 1866 and its curriculum, faculty, and graduates. Drawing upon his own vision and energy, while convincing the Quebec government and officials of McGill University to support the MVC, Duncan McEachran created one of the most influential veterinary colleges in North America.     

Potential barriers to veterinary student access to counselling and other support systems: perceptions of staff and students at a UK veterinary school

Considerable evidence suggests that veterinary surgeons' mental health is often poorer than comparable populations and that the incidence of suicide is higher among veterinary surgeons than the general public. Veterinary students also appear to suffer from high levels of anxiety and stress, and may possess inadequate coping strategies when faced with adversity. Veterinary students may find it difficult to access central university support systems due to their heavy workload and geographical isolation on some veterinary campuses. A previous study of University of Edinburgh fourth-year veterinary students found that support services located several miles from the main veterinary campus was a barrier to students accessing counselling services. Consequently, a pilot project was initiated, which provided a counselling service at the University of Edinburgh's rural Easter Bush veterinary campus one afternoon a week during 2010. As part of the evaluation of this service, web-based questionnaires were delivered via e-mail to all veterinary staff and students towards the end of the 12-month pilot period to evaluate perceptions of barriers to student counselling and to investigate student-valued support services. Questionnaire responses were received from 35 per cent of veterinary students and 52 per cent of staff. Stigmatisation of being unable to cope was a potent inhibitor of seeking support within the veterinary environment, but counselling was perceived as valuable by the majority of staff and students. Provision of an on-site counselling service was considered important for increasing ease of access; however, students viewed friends and family as their most important support mechanism. Workload was cited as the main cause of veterinary student stress. The majority of staff and student respondents perceived veterinary students as having an increased need for counselling support compared with other students.     

A veterinary business curriculum model

The traditional veterinary curriculum has little room for business courses. Yet the success of many veterinary practice owners depends on their knowledge and application of fundamental business skills and principles. This article reports on a veterinary business systems curriculum that has been implemented at Iowa State University to address the business and life skills needs of veterinarians.     

Applications of nucleic acid probes in veterinary infectious diseases

Nucleic acid probe technology is increasingly being used in basic research in veterinary microbiology and in diagnosis of infectious diseases of veterinary importance. This review presents an overview of nucleic acid probe methodology and its applications in veterinary infectious diseases. The major applications of nucleic acid probes include detection of pathogens in clinical samples, especially those organisms which are fastidious and difficult to cultivate, differentiation of virulent from avirulent organisms and vaccine strains from wild type isolates, typing of microorganisms, mapping genes, screening libraries of cloned DNA for specific genes, detection of latently infected or carrier animals, study of mechanisms of pathogenesis, epidemiological studies and food safety.     

Carl Troester, 1880-83 as veterinarian in Tokyo

Carl Troester (1856-1928), royal Prussian junior veterinary surgeon, has been sent by command of His Majesty to Tokyo to teach at the Agricultural Faculty Japanese students in veterinary medicine. Instruction language is English. The course of instruction comprises 36 hours per week. He gains the acknowledgement of his pupils and in 1883, on dismissal he has been received by the Tenno. His career at the military veterinary academy in Berlin leads to the position of veterinary brigadier and professor. With the construction of the sanitary institute he has raised himself a memorial.