Introduction to psittacine pediatrics.

These few subjects are only a small fragment of the scope of pediatric medicine but are critical in their impact. The depth of material needed to cover the subject adequately should fill a textbook. If, however, aviculturists could master these seven areas, the numbers of babies requiring medical or surgical therapy would decrease dramatically. The entire purpose of preventive medical management is actually the elimination of medicine as it is practiced today. That goal, as desirable as it is, is quite some time off, and education remains the key to improving the quality of the lives and future of our patients. Attention to detail and the comprehension of normal physiology of these nondomestic (and generally tropical zone origin) birds will lead to great inroads in understanding the true underlying cause of pediatric problems; improved patient recovery rates; and a better appreciation of the nebulous but critical relationships among potential pathogens, infection, disease, performance, and productivity. Given our truly limited technical position, the veterinarian who learns to use the environment for the patient's health is light years ahead of what you can purchase for the purpose of actively forcing the direction of a complex situation.