Unit SEMEIOTICS AND MEDICAL PATHOLOGY OF LARGE ANIMALS
- Course
- Veterinary medicine
- Study-unit Code
- GP005428
- Curriculum
- In all curricula
- Teacher
- Maria Chiara Marchesi
- Teachers
-
- Maria Chiara Marchesi
- Hours
- 39 ore - Maria Chiara Marchesi
- CFU
- 3
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2023
- Offered
- 2026/27
- Learning activities
- Caratterizzante
- Area
- Discipline cliniche veterinarie
- Sector
- VET/08
- Type of study-unit
- Obbligatorio (Required)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian
- Contents
- Methodological bases for the direct clinical examination of the different apparatus, the etiopathogenesis and the pathophysiology of the most common diseases of the horse, ruminants and swine. The applicative criteria of the main collateral and instrumental exams needed to diagnose the internal medicine of large animals are outlined.
- Reference texts
- 1) A.Messieri e B.Moretti. Semiologia e Diagnostica Medica Veterinaria. Libreria Universitaria Tinarelli, 1963;
2) Ciaramella Paolo. SEMEIOLOGIA CLINICA VETERINARIA, - Poletto Editore, Milano, 2014.
3) MEDICINA INTERNA E CHIRURGIA DEL BOVINO, Gerrit Dirksen, Hans-Dieter Grunder, Matthaeus Stöber – PVI, Milano, 2014.
4) EQUINE INTERNAL MEDICINE, Stephen Reed, Warwick Bayly, Debra Sellon - Elsevier, St. Louis, Missouri, 2017. - Educational objectives
- D1 – KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
Students are expected to:
understand the methodological foundations of the clinical approach to the patient, including history taking, signalment, general clinical examination, and special clinical examination of the various body systems in large animals;
understand the main clinical signs associated with disorders affecting the different body systems;
understand the etiopathogenesis and pathophysiology of the most common diseases of horses, ruminants, and swine;
understand the indications, applications, and limitations of the principal ancillary and instrumental diagnostic procedures used in large animal internal medicine;
understand the principles underlying the interpretation of clinical findings and the results of the main diagnostic investigations.
D2 – APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
collect and correctly interpret history and signalment data;
perform the general clinical examination and the special clinical examination of the main body systems in large animals;
recognize and interpret the principal clinical signs identified during the clinical examination;
integrate information obtained from the history, signalment, and clinical examination in order to identify the body system(s) most likely involved in the disease process;
select the most appropriate ancillary and instrumental diagnostic procedures to further investigate the observed clinical condition;
interpret the results of the principal ancillary and instrumental diagnostic tests used in the diagnosis of diseases in large animals.
D3 – MAKING JUDGEMENTS
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
recognize and critically evaluate the main clinical signs identified during history taking and clinical examination;
direct the clinical examination in a reasoned manner toward the body system(s) potentially involved in the disease process;
correlate historical and clinical findings with the principal pathophysiological mechanisms underlying diseases of large animals;
critically select the most appropriate ancillary and instrumental diagnostic investigations according to the body system involved and the observed clinical presentation;
evaluate the limitations of the available information and recognize the need for further diagnostic investigations.
D4 – COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Upon completion of the course, students will demonstrate:
appropriate use of veterinary medical terminology and professional language;
the ability to describe historical and clinical findings accurately and systematically;
the ability to clearly communicate the clinical reasoning process leading to the identification of the affected body system(s) and the selection of the most appropriate diagnostic procedures.
D5 – LEARNING SKILLS
Upon completion of the course, students will:
possess a level of knowledge sufficient to support further study in advanced clinical disciplines;
be able to independently update and expand their knowledge in the field of large animal internal medicine;
possess the methodological foundations necessary for lifelong professional development through continuing education and the critical appraisal of scientific literature. - Teaching methods
- The module is organized in 27 hours of theoretical lectures and 12 hours
per student of practical lessons (practice and clinical rotation).
THEORETICAL LESSONS: in the classroom on the topics described in the program.
PRACTICAL LESSONS: at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, at the Teaching Farm or at local farms. - Learning verification modality
- Practical examination on a live animal, aimed at assessing the candidate's ability to correctly perform the general clinical examination and/or the special clinical examination of the main body systems in large animals, as well as to recognize and interpret the principal clinical findings.
Oral examination: an approximately 30-minute interview covering the topics addressed during the course, aimed at assessing the candidate's knowledge and understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the main diseases of large animals, the ability to interpret anamnestic and clinical findings, to identify the body system(s) involved in the disease process, and to appropriately approach the diagnostic evaluation of the patient. - Extended program
- THEORETICAL LECTURES
Introductory lecture – Review of the General Clinical Examination (GCE); Special Clinical Examination of the Respiratory System (2 h)
Dynamic upper airway disorders in horses; Guttural pouch diseases: equine strangles and guttural pouch mycosis (2 h)
Diseases of the lower respiratory tract: equine asthma and exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) (2 h)
Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex (BRD) ("Bovine Respiratory Disease") (1 h)
Respiratory diseases of swine (1 h) (Dr. Sensi)
Special Clinical Examination of the Gastrointestinal System (2 h)
Diseases associated with ruminal dysbiosis: ruminal acidosis and ruminal alkalosis (ruminal tympany, forestomach atony, right and left displaced abomasum) (2 h)
Metabolic disorders: ketosis and hypocalcaemia (2 h)
Pathophysiology of Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) and gastroduodenal ulceration in swine (2 h)
Pathophysiology of diarrhoeal syndromes (2 h)
Neonatal diarrhoea and ruminal acidosis in dairy calves ("rumen drinking syndrome"); malabsorption disorders in horses (2 h)
Special Clinical Examination of the Integumentary System: skin and skin appendage diseases in ruminants; diseases of the mammary gland (3 h)
Dermatological diseases in horses and ruminants: equine eosinophilic dermatitis; bovine interdigital phlegmon and laminitis; ovine interdigital dermatitis (2 h)
Special Clinical Examination of the Cardiovascular System (2 h)