15 lecture hours = 1 credit
The purpose of this “Wildlife & Zoological Medicine” course is to introduce & expose veterinary students to the diversity of this discipline of veterinary medicine. This course will expose the third-year student to species within the classes of mammalian, avian, reptilian, amphibian, and fish. Each of these taxons represented include between 6000 to 20,000 species. The representative species discussed and studied in this course will enable the veterinary student to gain a basic understanding of the unique challenges and requirements of medicine and surgery involving diverse species in ex situ locations within zoological parks and in situ within natural habitats or other environments. Likewise, the veterinary student will learn that (s)he will not only broaden one’s knowledge and skill base, but also potentially increase one’s income capacity by providing professional care for these species. This “Wildlife & Zoological” (W & Z) course will build on the knowledge & skills the sixth semester veterinary student has developed over the previous five semesters. This W & Z course will require a sound knowledge of parasitology, anatomy, physiology, general pathology, immunology, infectious diseases, and other disciplines of medicine and surgery. The veterinary student will be expected to be able to adapt and modify their skill sets and knowledge base to adapt to the unique characteristics of these species of other taxons of the vertebrate phylum.