Medicine
A hospitalized cat with an E-collar and IV fluids
What Is Medicine?
Medicine refers to the examination, diagnoses and treatment of a disease or illness through non-surgical means.
Veterinary medicine is rather unique compared to other medical professions since veterinarians are extensively trained to deal with illnesses that affect all of the tissues and organs in your pet's body. We know about it from head to tail, inside and out!
What's Included in Medicine?
Veterinary medicine encompasses virtually every discipline that can be found in a human hospital, but through the interaction and approach of one doctor.
Having said that, there are times when certain diseases or injuries require a more in-depth, technologically advanced or highly trained approach requiring a referral to a specialist.
Disciplines
Your veterinarian is trained in the following disciplines:
- Primary care and prevention - the medicine of vaccination, nutrition, exercise, public health and overall well-being
- Dermatology - the medicine of the skin (common diseases: Fleas, Environmental Allergies)
- Ophthalmology - the medicine of eye care (common disease: Corneal ulcer)
- Dentistry - the medicine of oral care (common diseases: Gingivitis, Dental Calculus)
- Cardiology - the medicine of the heart and vessels (common disease: Mitral Valve Insufficiency)
- Gastroenterology - the medicine of the stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas (common disease: Food Sensitivities)
- Endocrinology - the medicine of hormones and their glands (common diseases: Diabetes Mellitus, Hyperthyroidism)
- Neurology - the medicine of the brain, spinal cord and nerves (common disease: Epilepsy)
- Theriogenology - the medicine of reproduction (common disease: Infertility)
- Urology - the medicine of the kidneys and bladder (common disease: Urinary Tract Infection, Bladder Stones)
- Musculoskeletal - the medicine of bones and muscle (common disease: Arthritis)
- Oncology - the medicine of cancer
- Radiology - the medicine of taking and interpreting xrays
- Infectious diseases - the prevention and treatment of bacterial, viral, parasitic, fungal and prion illnesses
- Hematology - the medicine of the blood and its cells: the red and white blood cells (common disease: Anemia)
- Respirology - the medicine of the lungs and airways (common diseases: Asthma, Pneumonia)
- Cytology - the study of different tissues by analyzing their cells microscopically (common disease: Lipoma)
Diagnostics
Your veterinarian may use some of the following diagnostic methods or tools to determine what is ailing your pet:
- xrays
- blood work
- ultrasound
- endoscopic exam
- ear cytology
- fine needle aspirate
- biopsy
- plus many, many more...
Isn't That a Lot of Tests?
Getting a the proper diagnosis of your pet's illness may require several different tests. While we always try to do the minimal amount of testing for you and your pet, there are times when the properties of the unknown illness make it extremely difficult to identify with conventional testing.
Veterinary medicine is very similar to piecing together a puzzle, the more pieces there are, the longer it takes! In many of these situations, testing until we get a correct diagnosis allows for fewer, more appropriate treatments, proper monitoring of your pet's health and better outcomes for your pet.
One last thing to remember is that our patients don't speak, so the need for diagnostic testing to ascertain information that a person could simply be asked about is often essential. It is often the unexpected that we are trying to rule out (exclude), that helps us get to the bottom of what's ailing your pet.
Lastly, often it is what something is not, rather than what it is, that we are able to conclude. This means that after we have figured out what it isn't, we are usually left with only one or two choices as to what it must be, making it easier to treat. Without proper testing, we wouldn't know what to treat!