Colegiul Naional Unirea

Braov


The History
of
Veterinary Medicine











Profesor coordonator: Elev: Faydaver M. Melisa
Magda Luca Clasa XII B
2014

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The History
of
Veterinary Medicine




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Contents

Introduction
1. The History of Veterinary Medicine.
1.1 The Beginnings of Veterinary Medicine.
1.2 First Medical Recordings.
1.3 First Veterinary Schools.
2. Veterinary Medicine Nowadays.
2.1 Veterinary Workers.
2.2 Animal Sanctuaries in the U.S.A.
2.3 American Veterinary Medical Association.
3. Animal Rights.
3.1 Definition
3.2 P.E.T.A
3.3 The Humane Society of the United States
Conclusion
Bibliography








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Introduction

Medicine is the branch of science that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of
disease, disorder and injury in animals. The purpouse of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all
animal species, both domesticated and wild, with a wide range of conditions which can affect
different species of animals.
I do not believe in the concept of hell, but if I did I would think of it as a place full of people who
are cruel to animals Gary Larson

I usually can not make a great project unless it is a subject I am
deeply fond of and therefore I am more than pleased to make a project based on my strongest
passion. As a child, I always knew I wanted to be a vet, but I did not really know why. Sure, I
thought it was because I loved animals and wanted to help them. But as time passed, I realised
loving animals was not nearly enough.
Not surprisingly, veterinary medicine is so much more than helping that poor puppy with a broken
leg. It is medicine. It is an art. In order to help an animal, first you have to help the person
emotionally attached to it, you have to help that person understand whats wrong and how you can
help. It is true, there are times when you can hear me say, I hate people. But the real reason I
love veterinary medicine is because I do love people, and treating a sick animal is a indirect way
of helping the man, not only the animal.




I chose this subject because I believe it is a very interesting
profession and personally I think that it is a more complex career
than general medicine because veterinarians have to deal with a lot
of species while doctors have to deal with only one. I have
especially chosen this subject because Ive decided to attend
Veterinary School due to the fact that I grew a passion for this field.
I think that my purpose on this earth is to help injured animals and
make them better.

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Chapter 1 The History of Veterinary Medicine

1.1 The Beginings of Veterinary Medicine.
What we call " Veterinary Medicine " has been around as long as people and animals have worked
and lived together. The first attempts to organize and regulate the practice of treating animals
tended to focus on horses because of their economic significance. The Ancient Romans had a
word for the people that are doctors for animals, which is, veterinarius.

For more than a hundred years, the people that worked with horses were called farriers. These
people worked on what veterinarians would normally work on, the forging and applying of the
iron shoes to horses hooves to protect their feet. They also worked with the horses injuries and
illnesses.They had to learn their skills by working directly with the animals because they didn't go
to college. They knew a lot about things that is ordinary to know but they didn't know a lot about
science. Sometimes when the farriers worked on the animals it was primitive and hurtful tothe
animals and it didn't work.
1.2 First Medical Recordings.

People that study history have found Chinese writings about the diseases of horses, oxen,
and buffalo that go all the way back to about 2,500 B.C.
Some 4,000 years old Indian art show some men caring for horses and elephants.
The Ancient Egyptian art shows how they
make sure that their cattle and dogs health is well.
The Egyptian Papyrus of Kahun (1900 BCE)
Vedic literature in ancient India.

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One of the edicts of Ashoka reads: "Everywhere King Piyadasi made two kinds of
medicine available, medicine for people and medicine for animals. Where there were no
healing herbs for people and animals, he ordered that they be bought and planted."
In about A.D. 500 a Roman wrote a book on what veterinarians do and after that no book
was written until 1598 when an italian called Carlo Ruini wrote a book on the anatomy of
the horse.

1.3 First Veterinary Schools
The first school that taught people about scientific veterinary was in Lyon, France in 1762 by
Claude Bourgelat.
The Veterinary College of London was founded in 1791 by a group led by Granville Penn, a
grandson of William Penn.
The Royal Veterinary College is a veterinary school located in London,
England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. The RVC was founded
in 1791 and joined the University of London in 1949. It is the oldest and largest veterinary
school in the United Kingdom, and one of only seven where students can study to become a
Veterinarian.
In the United States, the first veterinarians had been trained in Europe. However, Boston, New
York and Philadelphia all had their own private veterinary schools by the 1850s. By the turn of the
20th century, several American agricultural colleges had started their own veterinary schools
which were focused on livestock animals. Dr. James Law was the first person to become a
professor that taught veterinary medicine in the United States. In 1879, Iowa Agricultural College
became the first land grant college to establish a school of veterinary medicine. In 1903, Iowa
State began offering the nations first four-year professional program in veterinary medicine.
Today, veterinary graduates of Iowa State are working as professionals in animal health and
public health in every state of the U.S. and in dozens of countries around the globe.




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Chapter 2 - Veterinary Medicine Nowadays

2.1 Veterinary Workers

Veterinary care is usually led by a veterinary physician (usually called a vet, veterinary surgeon or
veterinarian). This role is the equivalent of a doctor in human medicine, and usually involves post-
graduate study and qualification.
There are many different types of veterinary physicians ; some work with small animals, large
farm animals, or wild animals. Veterinarians learn to treat all animals, but sometimes work with a
specific type. Other veterinarians specialize in a particular type of medicine - for example,
veterinary dermatologists work with animals with skin problems.
Most vets work in clinical settings, treating animals directly. These vets may be involved in a
general practice, treating animals of all types and may specialize in a narrow medical discipline
such as surgery, dermatology or internal medicine.
Paraveterinary workers, including veterinary nurses, technicians and assistants, either assist vets in
their work, or may work within their own scope of practice, depending on skills and qualifications,
including in some cases, performing minor surgery.Some roles are specific to a species or group
of animals, such as farriers, who are involved in the shoeing of horses, and in many cases have a
major role to play in ensuring the medical fitness of the horse.

To become a vet in North America, you must go to college for at least 2 or 3 years, and take
several required classes, including many science classes. You then apply to veterinary school. If
you are accepted, you are in veterinary school for 4 years, and then graduate with the degree
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), or Veterinariae Medicinae Doctoris (VMD) if you
graduate from the University of Pennsylvania. In the United States and Canada, you have to pass a
test (called the NAVLE or North American Veterinary Licensing Exam) before you can practice
as a veterinarian. In other countries such as Australia, veterinary schools are 5 years long and take
students that have finished high school.



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2.2 Animal Sanctuaries in the U.S.A

Fortunately, many animal sanctuaries are exactly what they claim to be : an end, finally, to all
forms of abuse and exploitation for the animals in their care.
Examples of outstanding sanctuaries are many. Asiatic black bears, cruelly incarcerated in
Chinese bear farms and milked for their bile, may be rescued and rehabilitated at the Animals Asia
Foundations bear sanctuary. After enduring years of suffering, these bears can at last move and
roam, feel grass beneath their bodies, and be free of needless pain. Cows, pigs, chickens, sheep
and other animals exploited by the agribusiness industry find refuge in the rolling hills and grass at
Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary in Maryland, Farm Sanctuary in New York, and on the other
shore of the United States at Animal Place in California, to name just a few of these stellar
facilities. Numerous species of monkeys, formerly languishing in laboratory cages or barren zoo
enclosures or peoples homes where they were kept as pets, can climb trees and play with others
of their own kind at the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary in Texas.
The most fortunate of exploited African and Asian elephants, often ageing cast-offs of the circus
and zoo industry, may find a final home of relative freedom and significant bonds with fellow
elephants at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee or the Performing Animal Welfare Society
Wildlife Sanctuary in northern California.
These sanctuaries, and others like them, walk the talk of recognizing each animal as an individual
whose quality of life matters. These sanctuaries represent a pinnacle of humanitarianism, in which
humans recognize their obligation to not only to stop exploitation of those at our complete mercy,
but also to make retribution, the best that we can, for the often unspeakable.











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Here are examples of other wonderful natural sanctuaries in the USA :

The Wild Animal Sanctuary, Colorado
The Wild Animal Sanctuary is the oldest and largest nonprofit Sanctuary in the US dedicated
exclusively to rescuing captive exotic and endangered large carnivores, providing them with a
wonderful life for as long as they live, and educating about the tragic plight faced by an estimated
30,000 such animals in America today. Established by Executive Director Pat Craig in 1980,
TWAS is now located near Keenesburg, Colorado and it is open for visitors. Since January, 1980,
The Wild Animal Sanctuary has responded to nearly 1,000 requests from private citizens and
government agencies to rescue animals from across the United States and in Mexico.

In the U.S. alone, there are an estimated 30,000 captive large carnivores living outside the zoo
system. There are 4,000 Tigers living as pets in private homes in just the state of Texas more
Tigers than exist in the wild throughout the world.
The National Bison Range in Moiese, Montana

Established in 1908 by Theodore Roosevelt, when there were fewer than 100 bison known to exist
in the wild, the National Bison Range is one of the oldest refuges in the country and takes up
18,500 acres of land. Located about an hour north of Missoula, this rolling hillside features
grasslands, forest areas, and ponds, and is set near the Mission Mountain range, so it is a picture-
perfect setting thats a popular destination for photographers.On either route, you can see up to
350 to 500 bison, over 200 species of birds, as well as elk, white-tail and mule deer, pronghorn
antelope, bighorn sheep, coyotes, black bears, and other forms of wildlife.




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Disneys Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Walt Disney World Resort
Disney imagineers transformed 500 acres of Florida wetlands into a savanna-like wildlife
sanctuary for more than 1,700 animals. On a safari ride, youll observe lions, zebras, hippos,
giraffes and elephants wandering their vast natural habitat. You can also encounter Asian tigers,
Komodo dragons and exotic birds in an Asian jungle habitat
As a wildlife rehab center, the park rescues and rehabilitates injured and orphaned
animals. Animal handlers at the Conservation Station let you experience animals up close while
discussing how they care for and feed 1,000 animals over three tons of food a day.


2.3 American Veterinary Medical Association. (AVMA)
The AVMA is a not-for-profit association representing more than 84,000
veterinarians working in private and corporate practice, government, industry, academia, and
uniformed services. The AVMA acts as a collective voice for its membership and for the
profession.
In addition to caring for the nation's more than 70 million dogs, 80 million cats, 11 million birds, 7
million pet horses, and millions of other companion animals, veterinarians serve in medical
research, prevention of bio- and agroterrorism, and food safety and contribute greatly to scientific
breakthroughs throughout the world.


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Correspondence among practitioners along the East Coast led to a national convention of
veterinary surgeons in 1863 in New York. The first meeting was attended by 40 delegates
representing seven states: New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maine, Ohio and
Delaware. This was AVMAs first official meeting. The USVMA was renamed the American
Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) in 1898.
I believe that the AVMA is a very interesting association, because veterinarians all over the world
are brought together by it, and they work together for diagnosis and treatment of diseases in
animals.

Chapter 3 Animal rights

3.1 Definition
Animal rights is the idea that all nonhuman animals are entitled to the possession of their own
lives, and that their most basic interests such as an interest in not suffering should be afforded
the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings. Animal rights advocates agreed
for the most part that animals should no longer be viewed as property, or used as food, clothing,
research subjects, entertainment, or beasts of burden.

In parallel to the debate about moral rights, animal law is now widely taught in law schools in
North America, and several prominent legal scholars support the extension of basic legal rights
and personhood to at least some animals. The animals most often considered in arguments for
personhood are chimpanzees. This is supported by some animal rights academics because it would
break through the species barrier, but opposed by others because it predicates moral value on
mental complexity, rather than on sentience alone.

3.2 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (P.E.T.A)

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an American animal rights organization
based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit

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corporation with 300 employees, it claims to have three million members and supporters and to be
the largest animal rights group in the world. Its slogan is "animals are not ours to eat, wear,
experiment on, use for entertainment or abuse in any way.
Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and fellow animal rights activist Alex Pacheco, the
organization first caught the public's attention in the summer of 1981 during what became known
as the Silver Spring monkeys case, a widely publicized dispute about experiments conducted on
17 macaque monkeys inside the Institute of Behavioral Research in Silver Spring Maryland.
The case lasted ten years, involved the only police raid on an animal laboratory in the United
States, triggered an amendment in 1985 to that country's Animal Welfare Act, and established
PETA as an internationally known organization. Today it claims to focus on four core issues
opposition to factory farming, fur farming, animal testing, and animals in entertainment. It also
campaigns against eating meat, fishing, the killing of animals regarded as pests, the keeping of
chained backyard dogs, cock fighting, dog fighting, and bullfighting. As part of its anti-fur action,
PETA members have infiltrated hundreds of fashion shows in the U.S, Europe, and once in China,
throwing red paint on the catwalks, and unfurling banners. Celebrities and supermodels have
posed naked for the group's "I'd Rather Go Naked than Wear Fur" campaign.
PETA sends its staff undercover into research laboratories, factory farms, and circuses to
document the treatment of animals, where they spend many months as employees of the facility,
making copies of documents and wearing hidden cameras.
.
The organization is known for its aggressive media campaigns, combined with a solid base of
celebrity supportPamela Anderson, Drew Barrymore, Alec Baldwin, John Gielgud, Bill Maher,
Stella McCartney, Justin Bieber and Alicia Silverstone have all appeared in PETA ads.
3.3 The Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States is the nations largest animal protection organization,
rated the most effective by its peers.

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Since 1954, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all
animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. In 1954, HSUSs founders decided
to create a new kind of animal organization, based in the nations capital, to confront national
cruelties beyond the reach of local societies and state federations. Humane slaughter became an
immediate priority and commanded a substantial portion of the organizations resources. Myers
and his colleagues also viewed this first campaign as a vehicle for promoting movement cohesion.
The organization based in Washington, D.C. and it was founded by journalist Fred Myers and
three others, claiming more than 11 million Americans among its members and supporters.
They rescue and care for tens of thousands of animals each year, but our primary mission is to
prevent cruelty before it occurs. We're there for all animals, across America and around the world.
In September 2005, when thousands of animals were left behind as people evacuated during
Hurricane Katrina, HSUS joined other organizations in a massive search-and-rescue effort that
saved approximately ten thousand animals, and raised more than $34 million for direct relief,
reconstruction, and recovery in the Gulf Coast region. HSUS led the campaign that culminated in
the federal passage of the PETS Act in October 2006, requiring all local, state, and federal
agencies to include animals in their disaster planning scenarios. On the third anniversary of
Hurricane Katrina, HSUS reported that it had spent or committed $7.3 million on direct response
and efforts to reunite people and lost pets, $8.3 million on reconstruction grants for 54 humane
societies in the Gulf Coast region, and $2.3 million on reimbursement grants to 130 humane
societies from around the country that assisted in the response.

HSUS opposes cruelty in the raising and slaughter of animals used for food, encouraging its
constituents to reduce their consumption of meat and to choose products from humanely raised
animals instead of factory farm products. HSUS is a supporter of Certified Humane, one of the
programs that aims to certify that farm animals have been humanely treated.Former chief
executive officer John Hoyt once declared, "We are not a vegetarian organization, and as a matter
of policy do not consider the utilization of animals for food to be either immoral or inappropriate -
- a position that, as you might expect, earns us a great deal of criticism from various animal rights
organizations."

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Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe veterinary medicine is a very interesting profession, having a lot of
branches and job oportunities and a vast history. Although nobody really knows where it all
began, unoficially veterinary medicine has been around since animals and humas started working
together.
The first veterinary recordings were found in Egypt in the Papyrus of Kahun in 1900 BCE and the
first book was written in the 16th century, until then, people had not really known a lot about
veterinary medicine so they just went on experimenting and trying out treatments that would
usually work on humans on animals, killing most of them in the end.
On a similar note, the first oficial veterinary doctors, including American doctors, learned the
profession in France at the university in Lyon, since the first veterinary university was not built
until the 19th century.
In my opinion, veterinary medicine universities were built very late because people and animals
have been working together since the human race so as general doctors have their oficial history
since before Ancient Egypt, so should veterinary doctors have.
Moreover, nowadays veterinary medicine is a very large and interesting branch with a lot of
profesions and work oportunities. Graduating a veterinary school means 5-6 years of hard work
and study, a lot of practice and especially a strong will because I believe that loving animals just is
not enough to make a veterinary doctor. While veterinary medicine can be richly rewarding, a
veterinarian's day is not filled solely with adorable animals. It is important to develop a realistic
picture of the profession before choosing this career. Failure to understand the demands and
challenges of the profession can lead to dissatisfaction. Veterinarians must handle failure, loss,
grieving and angry clients, and sometimes animals that have been neglected. Veterinary education
is equivalent to that of a physician in time, cost, and intensity. However, veterinary salaries are
typically much lower than those seen in other medical and advanced professions.
The U.S.A is very rich in sactuaries for animals of all types. There are about 3,500 animal shelters
as well as a large number of non-sheltered and fostering groups. Unlike animal shelters,
sanctuaries do not seek to place animals with individuals or groups, maintaining instead each
animal until his or her natural death.
There are several national and international organizations that have taken the responsibility of
supervising numerous systems of non-profit animal sanctuaries in order to provide a general
system for sanctuaries to follow. Among them, The American Sanctuary Association monitors
and aids in various facilities to care for exotic wildlife.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), founded in 1863, is a not-for-profit
association representing more than 84,000 U.S. veterinarians working in private and corporate
practice, government, industry, academia, and uniformed services.

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Animal rights are a very controventional topic. Animal rights are the rights of animals, claimed to
the same humane treatment and protection from exploitation and abuse that are given to humans.
From my point of view, the most important animal right is the right of not sufferig, which is the
most debatable nowadays, supported by a lot of animal rights associations.
To be honest, whenever someone asks me why I want to be a vet, I find it difficult to give them a
good answer. I love animals and I cannot see myself practicing human medicine. I have always
found myself trying to help people and animals my entire life. Everyone always asks me why I do
not just do medicine instead, that it is easier (although sometimes people do not recognise them as
real doctors ) and I just tell them that I love a challenge. I like how they can not tell me what is
wrong and I have to put together everything I know to figure out the problem. To me, I see it kind
of like the scientific method. You have to observe, hypothesize, test/experiment, interpret results
and possibly come up with another approach if the first did not work.
One of the vets that I have talked with told me that it is a very rewarding job. It is different every
day, and it is never boring. You never know who is going to pop up with what kind of problems.
To me, I want to be able to do something different. I want to help animals when I can or when
they are sick.
Working and talking with veterinarians, veterinary students, and veterinary technicians and staff is
the best way to get a realistic picture of the profession. Veterinary medicine is a big commitment,
both academically and personally. A prospective veterinarian should be a good student with strong
science and math skills. A veterinarian must have compassion for both animals and people, enjoy
working with people, and possess strong communication skills because every animal comes with a
human. Veterinarians must be willing to advise clients on decisions that will have significant
financial and emotional impact, so being a vet includes having a long list of skills, not only math
and biology, but also psychological skills.






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Bibliography

A Bird's-Eye View of Veterinary Medicine Edited by Carlos C.
Perez-Marin,
Insights from Veterinary Medicine. Edited by Rita Payan-
Carreira
www.wikipedia.com
www.vetmedicine.about.com
www.careerplanning.about.com
www.peta.org
www.avma.org
www.petaasiapacific.com
www.humanesociety.org
www.iastate.edu