Lee High School

How has the advancement of technology and medicine helped in the veterinary field?

Erika Medina

Senior Capstone

Peter Foote

March 21, 2017

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Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. Thats the problem. (A.A Milne,

12 Inspirational Quotes All Animal Lovers Should Know). Veterinarians dedicate their time to

helping out animals in need. This job is great for animal lovers, and that passion shows when

veterinarians are at work. If you care about patients, and their owners, you will do right by them

by knowing what to do..(A Veterinary Medicine Interview: Dr. Corinne R. Sweeney). A

veterinarians goal is to save the animals life any way they can. That wouldnt be possible

without medicine, and technology as their tools. As the years have gone by, medicine, and

technology in the medical field for humans has developed, and adjusted for veterinary use. The

advancements have helped find medical conditions much easier, assisted surgeries, and

treated illnesses such as cancer, and osteoarthritis.

There wasnt much contributions or anything really coming out of veterinary science

until the late 19th century (January 1801-December 1900) thanks to the man credited to be the

founder of veterinary science; Sir John Mcfayden. In more recent years, new technologies have

been developed from what is used for humans such as MRI/MR, CAT/CT, and Ultrasounds to

locate issues in pets. MRI( Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is a medical test used by doctors to get

pictures of a persons anatomy in order to diagnose the medical condition, but more recently its

been used on pets. Vets can get a scan of the animals brain as well as tissue structures. An MRI

can find the causes of seizures, and paralysis. CAT (Computed Axial Tomography) scans use x

rays to get detailed pictures of the body, but are better for finding broken bones, and blood clots.

Dr Peter Scrivani, a professor at Cornell University of Veterinary Science explained, CT

actually shows better detail in bone, but MR is best for soft tissue. (Pets Finally Get Their Own

Magnetic Resonance (MRI). CT scans can still be helpful in locating both nasal, and brain

tumors, sinus problems, and skull trauma. A cheaper, but still efficient alternative is ultrasounds.
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Ultrasounds allow people to see inside the body by using high frequency sound waves. They can

be helpful to check if any organs have masses that will need to be tested to know whether or not

it is benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Ultrasounds can be requested by the vet

when pets vomit for a long period of time, if they are losing too much weight or if they have

fluid in their abdomen.

People didnt really perform surgeries on animals until veterinarians emerged, though

there was documentation from Mesopotamian era about animal health such as dissections, and

taxonomy. More recently, theres tools helping the process of surgery such as laparoscopy, and

3D printing. Laparoscopy is inserting a thin instrument with a camera, and light through the

stomach. It can used to check for abnormal growths, damage to organs or infections. In the year

2011 in Vietnam, an asian black bear called Map-map was the first to have its damaged gall

bladder removed using laparoscopy. It was operated on with the UK vet Roman Pizzi who

commented, This procedure was only really possible thanks to a cutting edge designed

retractor.I hope this experience helps raise its profile, and encourage more veterinary surgeons

to look into it as a standard procedure. (Pioneering Surgery For Moon Bear). 3D printing is

using a computer program to produce a three-dimensional object. A model of an animals bones

can be created to give the surgeon a good idea of the structure before operations. It also helps the

vet practice for the surgery. When asked the question of the advantages using 3D printing

technology for veterinary use , the veterinarian radiologist Dr. Stephen Joslyn answered, 3D

printing is used so surgeons can practice a surgery before performing it on a live patient.

Multiple copies of the tissue can be printed. (Pet Talk: Advances in technology affect veterinary

medicine). An example of 3D printing helping an animal was in 2015. A greylag goose had most

of her bill missing, and was taken into a rescue center where the dentist Paolo Miamoto, who
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specialized in 3D facial, and dental reconstruction was asked to make another beak using a 3D

printer. After two attempts, they were able successfully keep the beak on. Happy with the

results, Miamoto was grateful for having the 3D printing technology. He commented, We give

many animals a second chance. Without these prosthetics, most would have been euthanized

because there was nobody to care for them. (Injured Animals Get Second Chance With 3-D

Printed Limbs). Two other examples of the usage of 3D printing involved giving Holly the horse,

a horse shoe, and giving Cyrano the cat, a new knee.

One illness that pet owners fear hearing as a result from testing on their pet is cancer.

Cancer is also one of the main causes of death in pets especially dogs with the percentage being

47, according to The Veterinary Cancer Society. A pathologist for the Wildlife Conservation

Society, Dr. Denise Mcloose once stated, Cancer is one of the leading health concerns for

humans, but now we understand that cancer can kill wild animals at similar rates. (Cancer Kills

Wild Animals Too). Animals can get the same types of cancer like humans, but the most common

in cats, and dogs are skin, mammary gland, neck, lymphoma, and bone. Just like for humans,

chemotherapy works well on animals. The effects are more mild on an animal than what a human

goes through, and many medications are used to make them feel more comfortable. The

treatments SRT (Stereotactic radiation), and intracavitary chemotherapy are also available. SRT

uses small amounts of large radiation which is sent to the tumor over a short amount of time.

SRT can treat several types of tumors such as brain, nasal, and spine. According to Dr. Jarred

Lyons, a radiation oncologist, this works best for ..cases with a tumor in a location where

surgery is not feasible.. (New Cancer Therapy Options for Animals:Cyberknife Radiation).

Intracavitary chemotherapy is placing high doses of radiation in a body cavity so the rest of the

body doesnt get exposure to the drug. This treatment is meant to expose neoplastic cells
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(Gorman, Jeffrey), and is best for both carcinomatosis (cancer spreading widely around), and

sarcomatosis (several tumors forming on the body). As for another serious illness, osteoarthritis,

which is a chronic form of arthritis, theres a therapy called Stem cell therapy that can have great

results. Genevieve Condon, a veterinarian from Clyde Park Veterinary Clinic, listed this therapy

in a recent interview. Our latest advancement in our practice is we are now offering Stem Cell

Therapy for treatment of osteoarthritis. (Condon). Stem cells basically are a repair system that

helps by ...replenishing tissues of the body. ( Gade, 99). This therapy takes the animals fat

which has the stem cells, and it is injected back to the patient. According to the author of the

book Medicine Dog: The Miraculous Cure that Healed My Best Friend and Saved My Life, Julia

Szabo, stem therapy improved her pitbull Sams life. What happened that day changed both our

lives. (Szabo,v, Prologue). Szabo described the situation Sam was in as, His poor bones were

grinding against each other without a cushion; I winced to see him suffer with each halting step,

keenly feeling his discomfort. (Szabo, 9) She also explained the stem cell therapy, and how it

worked for Sam, The stem cells naturally target places in the body that are inflamed, and need

an assist. In Sams case, they went right to his inflamed joints, and it worked. (Stell Cell

Therapy Works Wonders For A Dog--And His Owner). His life was extended; Sam being able to

live to be 17.

Advancements in technology, and medicine has impacted the veterinary field by helping

find medical conditions, assisting in performing surgeries, and helping treat several illnesses.

Genevieve Condons take on the advancement of medicine is, Veterinary medicine is constantly

changing, and improving techniques. In order to provide the best care possible for patients, and

clients, keeping up with current veterinary news is extremely important. (Condon) She also

made a note about Veterinary Information Network (VIN), an online group for vets where they
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discuss about new trends in the field. Its not always possible to save every pet, but veterinarians

make an attempt to do so, and with the world going forward with new technology, conditions that

couldnt be treated in the past, can be treated today.

Works Cited

"A Veterinary Medicine interview: Dr. Corinne R. Sweeney; Always be honest, says this

large-animal internal medicine specialist who helped treat Barbaro. 'The first error in

medicine is making a mistake. The second error is lying about it.'." Veterinary Medicine, Nov.

2006, p. 705+. Health Reference Center Academic, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?

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p=HRCA&sw=w&u=lom_accessmich&v=2.1&id=GALE

%7CA156553918&it=r&asid=e532610e45aa10ed1b9dcc3009989827. Accessed 30 Mar. 2017.

Arnold, Carrie. "Injured Animals Get Second Chance With 3-D Printed Limbs".

News.nationalgeographic.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

Condon, Genevieve. Mentor Interview. 2017. in person.

Dale, Steve. "Stem-Cell Therapy Works Wonders For A Dog -- And His Owner".

chicagotribune.com. N.p., 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

Gade, Nitin E., et al. "Therapeutic potential of stem cells in veterinary practice." Veterinary

World, Aug. 2012, p. 499+. Health Reference Center Academic, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?

p=HRCA&sw=w&u=lom_accessmich&v=2.1&id=GALE

%7CA343532821&it=r&asid=cc9b8f18d535fcda3322149bcd2e428d. Accessed 30 Mar. 2017.

Gorman, Lisa, and Jeffrey N. Bryan. "Intracavitary and intralesional chemotherapy in dogs and

cats: in well-selected cases, these localized chemotherapies have shown promise. Although

cases are infrequent, such therapies could benefit certain patients, especially when standard

treatments are not an option." Veterinary Medicine, Mar. 2013, p. 114+. Health Reference Center

Academic, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=HRCA&sw=w&u=lom_accessmich&v=2.1&id=GALE

%7CA327046282&it=r&asid=e4ebc8d540421b5e58d4bc4142af976b. Accessed 30 Mar. 2017.

Netherton, Sarah. "Pet Talk: Advances In Technology Affect Veterinary Medicine".

News-gazette.com. N.p., 2014. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

"Pioneering Surgery For Moon Bear By Edinburgh Vet - BBC News". BBC News. N.p., 2011.

Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

Swartz, Anna. "12 Inspirational Quotes All Animal Lovers Should Know". The Dodo - For

Animal People. N.p., 2015. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.

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"Pets Finally Get Their Own Magnetic Resonance (MRI) Machineat Cornell's Veterinary

Hospital". Vet.cornell.edu. N.p., 2004. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

Science Staff, Live. "Cancer Kills Wild Animals Too". Live Science. N.p., 2009. Web. 27 Mar.

2017.

Palmquist, Richard. "New Cancer Therapy Options For Animals: Cyberknife Radiation". The

Huffington Post. N.p., 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.

Szabo, Julia. Medicine Dog: The Miraculous Cure That Healed My Best Friend And Saved My

Life. 1st ed. National Book Network, 2014. Print.

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