8 imagine Jan/Feb 2017

Explorations in Veterinary Medicine

In the afternoon, we headed to lab, usually the gross anatomy lab, where we worked with cadaver specimens. We probed a dog’s abdomen, studied a sagittal section of a dog’s head, and examined a dog’s hind limb, heart, and lungs. In addition, we had weekly labs with living dogs, on which we practiced skills such as cranial nerve tests, auscultation (listening to the heart and lungs), and bandaging.

Just as fun and fascinating as the labs were tutorial cases, which

we investigated in groups of about 10 students with one of the

TAs. Each group received a packet containing minimal information

about a case of an injured animal. For instance, the first page of one

packet explained that a dog had been hit by a car and was unwilling

or unable to stand. We wrote the information we were given on a

whiteboard and generated reasons the dog might be displaying these

clinical signs: Was there a fracture or nerve damage? If so, where

would this injury most likely be? We also determined which tests,

such as radiographs or blood tests, could help us diagnose the ail-

ment. After learning the results of any tests (provided on subsequent

pages), we diagnosed the condition and made a plan for the patient’s

treatment and recovery. By the time the program ended, I had learned an incredible

amount about anatomy and physiology and the common issues vets see in small animal practice. I was sad to say goodbye to the friends I made, but I was looking forward to spending the next three weeks focusing on my favorite large animal: horses.

W ith my notebook in hand and fitted with a surgical mask, booties, and a hair net, I eagerly followed the veterinarian

into the operating room. As she began to perform the spay on the Labrador retriever, I inched closer to get an unobstructed view. I was transfixed as I watched the surgeon’s quick and skillful hands incise and then suture.

I was only one week into my summer shadowing experience at a veterinary clinic for small and exotic animals, and I had already observed veterinarians diagnose cancer in a hedgehog, remove a pair of overgrown incisors from a rabbit’s mouth, and neuter an entire group of squirrely sugar gliders. I enjoyed the experience so much that I returned the following summer. After that, I knew I wanted to pursue veterinary science in college—and also that I didn’t want to wait until college to learn more.

Searching online for programs that gave high school students experience in the veterinary field, I found Cornell Summer College, which offers three-week programs in veterinary medicine and ani-mal science. I applied to two of them: one focusing on small animal veterinary practice and the other on equine veterinary medicine.

I actually jumped up and down when I received notification of my acceptance to both programs. I was going to study veterinary medicine for six weeks at one of the best vet schools in the country!

Small Animal Practice

I arrived at Cornell in June and was both excited and terrified as I watched my mom drive away. But within the first week, I perfected the art of walking up to random people and introducing myself. The friends I made were fun and bright, and together we organized study groups and celebrated test scores with ice cream.

Every morning, we attended three lectures, which covered sub-jects ranging from physical exams to the differences between the numerous cranial nerves. Lectures were a great opportunity to learn from our amazing teachers, Dr. Phillip Maza and Dr. Allison Miller, who are both professors in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine. We also attended lec-tures by our TAs, who were current Cornell veterinary students, as well as guest lectures by specialists such as veterinary ophthalmolo-gist Dr. Nita Irby. All of our lecturers conveyed the material with an enthusiasm that made our discussions interesting and memorable, and we were encouraged to ask as many questions as we needed to understand the subjects in greater depth.

by Madison Luker

Left: Madison practices auscultation during lab. Right: Suited up to study specimens in the gross anatomy lab.

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Learn more about the Cornell Summer College at sce.cornell.edu/sc/programs.

As in the small animal program, we attended morning lectures and participated in after-noon labs. Lectures were delivered primarily by Dr. Miller, but we also heard from guest lec-turers on topics including nutrition, breeding, surgery, and, the most interesting to me, farri-ery—the practice of trimming, balancing, and applying shoes to horses’ hooves. We heard from Steve Kraus, Cornell’s head farrier, and watched him and a few of his students make a horseshoe from a bar of metal and put a special-ized horse shoe on one of the horses at Cornell’s animal hospital. I had always considered farriery important, but I hadn’t realized how critical a role farriery can play in a horse’s health: it can prevent injury, compensate for faulty limb action, or help improve an existing condition.

In addition to observing experts in the field, we also worked directly with horses at Cornell’s Equine Park during lab. We per-formed different components of a physical exam (auscultated heart and lungs, and listened to borborygmi (gut sounds)), and, feeling along their bodies, identified different parts of the musculoskeletal system. We also visited the Cornell Large Animal Hospital, where we learned how to perform a lameness exam and apply a Modified Robert Jones bandage, and watched Dr. Miller pass a nasogastric tube to treat a horse for colic.

My six weeks at Cornell passed too quickly, but I left with great memories and a ton of new knowledge. I look forward to studying biology in college and seeking out

additional research experiences. Although I don’t yet know what area of veterinary medicine I want to focus on, I know for certain that this career—where I can apply my favorite subject, biology, to make a difference in the lives of animals—is the right one for me. n

Madison Luker is a senior at the Orange County School of the Arts, where she studies in the Music & Theatre Conservatory. She is co-president of an apol-ogetics club and competes as an equestrian athlete in jumping equitation classes.

Equine Veterinary Medicine

As an equestrian athlete who works with horses every day, I was eager to learn more about horses from a veterinary perspective. Ini-tially, I thought the course might review a lot of the information from the small animal class, but I quickly realized how different the material would be. Take the GI tract, for example. The digestive tract is complicated in both dogs and horses, but while a dog’s colon has three primary sections, a horse’s colon is a whole maze of twists and turns. To help us remember all of the parts of a horse’s colon, we learned a dance. The famed colon dance—which involves twirl-ing and performing jazz hands while listing the different parts of an intestine—will forever be locked in my brain.

In addition to acquiring some killer dance moves, I also com-pleted a lot of research. Working in small groups, we chose an equine illness or injury to study in depth. My group decided to learn about the Equine Herpes Virus (EHV), which can infect multiple systems and induce different clinical signs depending on the affected area. Each member of our group focused on a different manifestation of EHV: one person researched and presented on EHV infections of the respiratory system, and another on how EHV affects the reproduc-tive system. I presented on EHV myeloencephalopathy, a degenera-tive disease of the central nervous system that induces neurological clinical signs in horses such as weakness, lethargy, and, in severe cases, the inability to stand.

Madison learned how to apply a Modified Robert Jones bandage at the Cornell Large Animal Hospital.

To get the feel of giving an injection, students practiced on oranges.