Pemphigus Erythematosus Perhaps not the prettiest of sites but fortunately for this dog it’s one of the milder forms of autoimmune disease Antibodies within the animal attack the ‘cement’ that hold the cells together, causing separation of the layers on the nose. Treatment is relatively simple, we suppress with immune system of the animal with steroids, reducing body’s ability to damage itself.

Pemphigus Erythematosus

Perhaps not the prettiest of sites but fortunately for this dog it’s one of the milder forms of autoimmune disease

Antibodies within the animal attack the ‘cement’ that hold the cells together, causing separation of the layers on the nose.

Treatment is relatively simple, we suppress with immune system of the animal with steroids, reducing body’s ability to damage itself.

Diving, March 2012 www.VetsTail.com

Diving, March 2012

www.VetsTail.com

Argh! Yes yes, you guys are right, propofol is the only milky wonder that can go IV!My mind is focused on horses at the moment and if propofol was licensed in horses at all it would need a syringe like the one above! Forgive my error!

Argh! Yes yes, you guys are right, propofol is the only milky wonder that can go IV!

My mind is focused on horses at the moment and if propofol was licensed in horses at all it would need a syringe like the one above!

Forgive my error!

Just a reminder!

Just a reminder!

The Joys of Lambing One of my friends hard at work keeping the lambs alive! Sorry for excess of photo’s recently, life has been hectic and more than just blogging had to go out the window!

The Joys of Lambing

One of my friends hard at work keeping the lambs alive!

Sorry for excess of photo’s recently, life has been hectic and more than just blogging had to go out the window!

Playing Vets (Taken with instagram)

Playing Vets (Taken with instagram)

The rigours of being a vet!

The rigours of being a vet!

First article for www.VetStart.org

Any Questions?

We arrive at Vet school expecting to be taught how to be a Vet. By second year we know there’s more to it than what’s in the lectures.
Being good at what you do is about more than encyclopaedic knowledge of parasitology, pathology and pharmacology, amongst others. That isn’t a surprise. The same has always applied to anyone, in any job…
[Follow the link!]
Our Truck! A break away from Veterinary issues to show an awesome truck we rode in travelling through Botswana.

Our Truck!

A break away from Veterinary issues to show an awesome truck we rode in travelling through Botswana.

Haemangioma A benign tumour of the blood vessel lining (vascular endothelium). You can see the red blood cells enclosed by fibrous lines (stroma). These are often seen as birth marks and are usually harmless The specimen taken from the cheek of a young dog but they can occur in other areas such as the liver.

Haemangioma

A benign tumour of the blood vessel lining (vascular endothelium). You can see the red blood cells enclosed by fibrous lines (stroma). These are often seen as birth marks and are usually harmless

The specimen taken from the cheek of a young dog but they can occur in other areas such as the liver.

Personal Intrigue Vet school does funny things to a person. One minute cursing the world, the next your career choice and then comes the guilt for the briefest thought of abandoning the creatures in your care. Of course everyone goes through this, day in day out no matter what your career. Today though I am going to be vain. I’ll start by giving myself a pat on the back for apparently writing well enough and/or with interesting content to attract over 4000 followers. I’m proud of that.  Things in my education are rapidly coming to an end and before too long you will be reading content from a degree holder. On that front I have just (today) finished my penultimate written exam and this really has been the toughest academic challenge I have had to cope with. They haven’t gone as smoothly as I would like. It’s easy to become despondent when you lose perspective and I’m thankful of having the pressure to write here (from you guys) to help with this. Thankyou Finally I am pleased to be writing for www.VetStart.org as they make changes to the site and push to make things really great for their readers. I think you guys on tumblr will appreciate what they are doing. 

Personal Intrigue

Vet school does funny things to a person. One minute cursing the world, the next your career choice and then comes the guilt for the briefest thought of abandoning the creatures in your care.

Of course everyone goes through this, day in day out no matter what your career. Today though I am going to be vain. I’ll start by giving myself a pat on the back for apparently writing well enough and/or with interesting content to attract over 4000 followers. I’m proud of that. 

Things in my education are rapidly coming to an end and before too long you will be reading content from a degree holder. On that front I have just (today) finished my penultimate written exam and this really has been the toughest academic challenge I have had to cope with. They haven’t gone as smoothly as I would like. It’s easy to become despondent when you lose perspective and I’m thankful of having the pressure to write here (from you guys) to help with this. Thankyou

Finally I am pleased to be writing for www.VetStart.org as they make changes to the site and push to make things really great for their readers. I think you guys on tumblr will appreciate what they are doing. 

your job very beatfyfull ! — Asked by daoraventureira

I have never thought of that but you are right, it is. Thank you for pointing this out to me!

What can go wrong with your hormones? Endocrine Pathology - 1 This is actually a topic I am approaching as I write, and with no small amount of trepidation. So to ease my own suffering I will be dragging you along for the final furlongs. To cover all endocrine pathologies in a single post strikes me as more than a little dull for the both of us. So think of this as an introduction, covering the breadth but not the depth of the topic. The endocrine system is the sum of all the glands that release hormones into a body. It doesn’t take much to work out that everytime you have an adrenaline rush, part of your endocrine system is being kicked into overdrive. That’s one of the most obvious effects but as with anything biological, the beauty extends as much into the subtlties as it does the overt manifestations.  Having mentioned the adrenal gland as an endocrine organ the remainder tend to keep out the public light a little. Lets work our way down the body. Lodged in the middle of your head hangs the pea sized pituitary gland largely responsible for keeping your body in a steady state. If something here goes awry here your dog could end up with anything from a form of dwarfism (see picture) to diabetes insipidus. Picture is of a German Shepherd with pituitary dwarfism. They will not grow to full size, retain the look of a puppy and have numerous health issues.

What can go wrong with your hormones? Endocrine Pathology - 1

This is actually a topic I am approaching as I write, and with no small amount of trepidation. So to ease my own suffering I will be dragging you along for the final furlongs. To cover all endocrine pathologies in a single post strikes me as more than a little dull for the both of us. So think of this as an introduction, covering the breadth but not the depth of the topic.

The endocrine system is the sum of all the glands that release hormones into a body. It doesn’t take much to work out that everytime you have an adrenaline rush, part of your endocrine system is being kicked into overdrive. That’s one of the most obvious effects but as with anything biological, the beauty extends as much into the subtlties as it does the overt manifestations. 

Having mentioned the adrenal gland as an endocrine organ the remainder tend to keep out the public light a little. Lets work our way down the body. Lodged in the middle of your head hangs the pea sized pituitary gland largely responsible for keeping your body in a steady state. If something here goes awry here your dog could end up with anything from a form of dwarfism (see picture) to diabetes insipidus.

Picture is of a German Shepherd with pituitary dwarfism. They will not grow to full size, retain the look of a puppy and have numerous health issues.

What I have learnt at Vet School

Focus on the aspects you enjoy the most, don’t force anything. Be aware that what you enjoy will change from day to day, don’t be frustrated by your fickleness. Don’t guess at what you dislike.

The Macrophage and the Amoeba We can see the diversity of different species even within mammals, let alone between different kingdoms. What we fail to see is the similarities visible on a cellular, or even genetic level. This macrophage is giving a great example of how our white blood cells can behave much like an amoeba. Extending projections called pseudopods to engulf a bacterium, scaffolding (microtubules formed by actin) within the cell are built up to ‘push’ the cell membrane and form an extension filled with cytoplasm. The mechanism is identical between the single cell amoeba that evolved much closer to the dawn of life than the humble macrophage or neutrophil that is one of millions within your body.

The Macrophage and the Amoeba

We can see the diversity of different species even within mammals, let alone between different kingdoms. What we fail to see is the similarities visible on a cellular, or even genetic level.

This macrophage is giving a great example of how our white blood cells can behave much like an amoeba. Extending projections called pseudopods to engulf a bacterium, scaffolding (microtubules formed by actin) within the cell are built up to ‘push’ the cell membrane and form an extension filled with cytoplasm.

The mechanism is identical between the single cell amoeba that evolved much closer to the dawn of life than the humble macrophage or neutrophil that is one of millions within your body.