The veterinary profession has made tremendous strides over the years in the field of clinical practice for both the large and small animals. The profession has helped for livelihood for creation and nutrition security. The veterinarians have played a major role in serving the speachless animals and controlling diseases. Our main aim has been to publish an easy-to-understand and concise text book for Undergraduate Veterinary students, and Post graduate students with clinical interest.

Veterinary Clinical Medicine is a subset of Veterinary Medicine, and refers to study on animal diseases at the patient bed side for diagnosis, monitoring, prognosis and treatment of the disease. The Veterinary Medicine is that branch of veterinary science that deals with diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control of diseases, disorders and injury in domesticated, pet, wild, zoo, captive, freeliving animals and birds.

The deviation from normal health is defined as disease. Health refers to the very absence of the disease. Therefore, health is a state where all the body systems function normally and the activities continue within the physiological limits. So, the disease can be defined as the inability to perform physiological functions at normal levels even when nutrition and other environmental requirements are provided at adequate level.

The term “diagnosis” is derived from Greek words dia (between) and gignoskein (to know). It literally means to recognizing a disease and knowing difference between the two diseases or conditions. Therefore, diagnosis includes – determination of specific cause, abnormality of structure and function produced by the causative agents and clinical manifestations associated with the abnormality.

The general systemic states are generalized in nature and involve whole body systems. They are common to many diseases and contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease. Pathogenesis is defined as the changes in functioning at the cellular level and establishment of disease process. Hyperthermia, hypothermia, fever, toxaemia, septicaemia, bacteraemia, shock, dehydration, acid-base imbalance, hyponatremia, hypokalemia etc. are some examples of general systemic states.

The two different compartments of the body fluids are extracellular fluid (ECF) and intracellular fluid (ICF) with variation in solute concentrations. The extracellular fluid is the fluid in the cardiovascular system or in between the cells, called interstitial fluid.

The primary function of the digestive system include prehension of food material, its digestion, absorption, excretion of undigested material and maintenance of internal environment. All the these functions are accomplished through the four major functions of the gastrointestinal system.

Liver is the largest exocrine gland located in right side of the abdominal cavity obliquely from lumbocostal angle downward and forward to intercostal space, about 3-4” (10 cm) above the abdominal floor.

The primary function of cardiovascular system is to maintain blood circulation so that normal exchange of fluid, electrolyte, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrient and excretory and secretory end products can take place between tissue and blood. Failure of circulation to any degree interferes with the transport and exchange mechanism.

The blood is considered as the connective tissue, and consists of fluid component called plasma, and cellular component. Cellular component consists of erythrocytes, leikocytes and thrombocytes. Blood cells produced during different stages of life (prenatal and postnotal) differ in morphology and function. The primitive erythrocytes (Red blood cell) are produced on yolk sac, and later from liver, spleen and bone marrow.

The functional efficiency of the respiratory system depends on the ability to oxygenate the blood and to remove CO2 as it passes in the respiratory circulation resultant. Interference with this function can occur in a number of ways but the resultant defect in all cases is lack of adequate oxygen supply to the tissues. The respiratory insufficiency like anoxia or hypoxia is responsible for most of the clinical signs of respiratory diseases leading to respiratory failure and finally death.

Diseases of bladder and urethra are most commonly reported in farm animals than diseases of kidney. Knowledge of the physiology of the urinary secretion and excretion is required to understand the urinary tract diseases. The functions of kidneys are to excrete the end products of tissue metabolism except CO2 and to maintain homeostasis with respect to fluid and solutes including acid base balance by selective excretion of these substances. The kidney maintains homeostasis by varying volume of water and the concentration of solutes in the urine.

The lymphatic system is an extensive drainage system that returns water and proteins from various tissues back to the blood stream. The system consists of a network of very fine vessels or tubes called lymphatics that drain lymph from all over the body, and lymphnodes. Lymphatics are found in every part of the body except the central nervous system.

Emergency medicine deals with patients those are critically ill and requires immediate healthcare for survival. Every life threatening disease is presented for emergency management and the clinician is required during emergenices to successfully manage these with strong working knowledge, quick assessment and appropriate action.

Causes: Dietary causes like hypovitaminosis A, nutritional deficiency of vitamin B complex, linoleic acid. Iodine poisoning. Parasitic causes like flea, lice, mange infestation, ring worm.

The major functions of the musculoskeletal system to provide support to organs and help in physical activities including locomotion, prehension, and mastication. The clinical manifestations of the diseases of muscles, bones and joints are much in common, and are generally characterized by lameness, failure of support, in coordination of movement and deformity.

The role of nervous system in animal is the maintance of bodies, speical relation with the immediate environment. Such functions are acomplished by several sections of the nervous systsm. The sensory motor system is responsible for maintaing normal posture and gait.

Metabolic diseases assume the greatest significance in dairy cows and buffaloes during transition period, and occur due to imbalance in input and output of production. The main reasons of occurrence of metabolic diseases are an imbalance between the rate of ‘input’ of dietary nutrients and ‘output’ of production.

General evidence of deficiency include either nutrient deficiency in diet or abnormal absorption, utilization or requirement of nutrient under consideration. Special evidence may be obtained by chemical or biochemical examination of diet.

The diseases that occur during the first one month of life are termed as diseases of neonates. During this period, the animal requires special attention to reduce mortality rate. The clinical examinations that are applied to adult animals are being used for the examination of newborns.

Animals contract poisoning due to a variety of toxic chemicals (inorganic and farm chemicals), phytotoxins, mycotoxins, and zootoxins, which is often fatal. Toxic chemicals and poisonous plants represent a tremendous economic impact. However, more often the poisoning episodes go undiagnosed. In general, poisoning is suspected when number of previously healthy animals show same symptoms and severity of illness at the same time and the same lesions at necropsy.

The whole plants or their parts have been used as source of medicine and health tonics both in medical and veterinary practice since time immemorial. Many of the active ingredients in chemically manufactured drugs have been originally derived from plant components (e.g. pyrethroids). Despite availability of the modern allopathic medicines, herbal medicines are still used on a very large scale. In the back drop of current global trade of herbal medicine and intellectual property right (IPR) scenario, and to overcome side effects of ‘single golden molecular bullet’ drug technologies of twentieth century, there is an upsurge of interest in traditional practices.

Abdominocentesis 108 Acid-Base Homeostasis 62 Acid-Base Imbalance 54 Acidosis 55