Program Overview

VSC324 Veterinary Pharmacology, Diagnostics and Therapeutics

VSC324 is an introduction to therapeutic and diagnostic modalities used in veterinary practice to diagnose and treat disease. Foundations of diagnostic imaging techniques such as radiology and ultrasonography, which are cornerstone instruments for veterinary clinical practice, will be introduced. The principles of drug treatment and therapeutic modalities such as antibiotics, anthelmintics, and analgesia will be introduced. The principles of anesthesia and surgical interventions for both diagnosis and treatment will also be introduced. Students cannot progress to Phase 2 without the completion of Phase 1.

Availability

• Session 2 (60)
• On Campus: Wagga Wagga Campus

Subject Information

Grading System

• HD/FL

Duration

• One session

School

• School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences

Enrolment Restrictions

• Restricted to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Veterinary Biology, Bachelor of Veterinary Biology/Bachelor of Veterinary Science, and Bachelor of Veterinary Biology/Bachelor of Veterinary Science (Honours)

Prerequisites

• VSC310

Subject Relationships

• VSC327 Incompatible

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this subject, students should:

• be able to describe the major pharmaceutical classes and various routes of administration of drugs
• be able to describe the principles of pharmacokinetics, bioavailability, drug metabolism, and half-life
• be able to explain the principles of therapeutic intervention, allometric scaling, determination of drug dose rates, and drug interactions
• be able to outline principles of analgesia, anesthesia, fluid therapy, and surgery
• be able to describe the principles of radiography and radiology and other diagnostic imaging modalities
• be able to confidently integrate knowledge of physiology and pathobiology to construct health management and treatment modalities
• be able to describe and perform common diagnostic procedures required to diagnose and manage disease in animals
• be able to discriminate and perform appropriate diagnostic imaging modalities for specific conditions
• be able to select appropriate sedation and anesthetic agents for routine use in healthy animals

Syllabus

This subject will cover the following topics:

• Drug nomenclature, dose-formulations, routes of administration
• Pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism, absorption, and excretion
• Drug partitioning in body tissues, metabolic drug interactions, and key species differences
• The role of anesthesia and analgesia in veterinary medicine and surgery
• Principles of surgery and wound healing
• Introduction to diagnostic imaging
• Radiation safety
• Pharmacology and Therapeutics
• Toxicology
• Pathophysiology
• Case management
• Clinical examination and diagnostic reasoning
• Communication
• Companion and Large Animal Medicine
• Vaccination and Preventative Medicine