Tell us about your background. I grew up on a small cattle ranch in southeastern Idaho and originally planned on being a mixed animal practitioner. I was always around horses as we used them to move cattle out onto open range, and we feed cattle in winter months using a sleigh and a team of...
It is more challenging than one may initially think to obtain radiographs that provide a diagnosis when patients come in for lameness. On top of needing more information, clinicians also have to consider the radiation exposure that their staff will receive while performing these films. Therefore, it is crucial that images be taken well, with...
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Research Says Oral Opioids Don’t Work in Dogs As a growing number of states—including Illinois—mandate training for opioid prescribers, experts from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine have released “Safe Prescription of Opioids in Veterinary Care,” a free online course that covers appropriate use of outpatient opioid prescriptions, drug disposal techniques, and alternative...
Meningoencephalitis of Unknown Etiology (MUE) refers to the category of disease with a suspected immune-mediated cause, but the pathophysiology is truly unknown. These diseases may be due to a precancerous condition, an immune response secondary to a previous infection, or a delayed (T cell mediated) hypersensitivity reaction. Four Flavors of MUE MUE can be divided...
Seizures are a clinical manifestation of excessive hypersynchronous neuronal activity. The causes of seizures are due to an inadequate amount of neuronal inhibition (i.e., GABA and glycine), excessive neuronal excitation (i.e., glutamate) or both. Seizures originate from the cerebrum and/or thalamus. The four components of a seizure are the pre ictal (prodrome and aura), ictus,...
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Many Ways to Reach Current Students It’s (Partly) the Economy In the current economy, a reasonable salary and standard benefits are not enough to attract the best new colleague to your practice. Work-life balance is important to today’s graduates, and most mention mentorship as a top priority. Of course, salary is a big consideration, as...
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On October 1, swine veterinarians and livestock professionals from 14 countries on four continents tuned in for real-world recommendations to prevent disease transmission on livestock production facilities. The speaker, Dr. Jim Lowe, is an associate professor at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine who has spent the past 25 years helping swine producers...
Dr. Devon Hague is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine and the head of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital’s Surgery, Anesthesia, Neurology, Dentistry, and Shelter Services section as well as of the neurology service. Tell us about your background. I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pa., always around animals. I used to...
Opioids are commonly used in the peri- and post-operative period to manage pain associated with knee surgery in dogs. The recent decrease in availability of opioids has led to an increase in the use of alternative techniques, such as local anesthetics. Epidural injection is commonly used to provide analgesia to dogs undergoing hind limb surgical...
Last month, thanks to legislative work spearheaded by the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association, lawmakers amended the Illinois Controlled Substances Act (SB 1665) to exempt veterinarians from the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP), effective immediately. Here are some of the highlights: Veterinarians are exempt from registering for the PMP. Veterinarians are now prohibited from accessing patient...