Clinical

Figure 2. The pain pathway, demonstrating the activation, transduction and modulation of signalling via the pain pathway at different levels and the perception of pain by higher centres. Descending inhibitory control is blue, descending facilitatory control is red. DRG = dorsal root ganglia.

Acute and chronic pain in dogs and cats

Pain is an emotive and sensory experience secondary to nociceptive or potentially nociceptive stimuli. It can be categorised as acute pain, lasting less than 12 weeks, or chronic pain which exceeds 12...

Figure 3. Landmarks for the palpation of tarsocrural joint effusion. Blue star represent lateral malleolus, black star calcaneus and red stars usual location of synovial effusion. Lateral view of the tarsus.

Approach to the orthopaedic patient

Taking the patient's history can be one of the most time-consuming and challenging parts of the orthopaedic examination. General questions should be followed by focused questions. The owner should be...

Figure 1. Heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) microfilaria..

Parasite roundup for 2022

Numbers of imported rescue cats and dogs have increased over the past few years with the associated risk of exotic pathogens entering the UK. These numbers have been added to in 2022 by Ukrainian pets...

Laryngeal assessment in dogs: a clinical review

PubMed and Google Scholar were used to identify relevant studies for review. The search terms were ‘laryngeal assessment dogs, ‘laryngeal collapse’, ‘laryngeal paralysis’, ‘premedication laryngeal...

Figure 8. Pedal alopecia and hyperpigmentation in a 7-year-old crossbreed dog with pododemodicosis, as part of generalised demodicosis.

Canine mange, part 1: causes and diagnosis

The historical and clinical aspects of the common causes of canine mange, plus the approach to diagnosis, have been covered in part 1 of this series. Part 2 will discuss treatment and management...

Figure 1. Percentage of owners who acquired a dog, cat or rabbit from abroad between 2020 and 2022.

PDSA Animal Wellbeing report on pet health and welfare

The estimated pet population and proportion of UK adults who own pets is calculated each year. In 2022 there were an estimated 11.1 million pet cats, 10.2 million pet dogs and 1 million pet rabbits in...

Figure 2. Dogs' Trust veterinary consultation room.

Canine stress in the veterinary environment

Owners play an important role in preparing their dog for the veterinary visit (Reimer et al, 2021)..

Figure 2. Right parasternal long axis view from a cavalier King Charles spaniel with suspected infective endocarditis. There is an irregular, thickened, hyperechogenic polypoid structure attached to the posterior leaflet of the mitral valve (oscillating lesion).

Infective endocarditis in dogs and cats

The normal endocardium is resistant to adherence of pathogens, but it can become susceptible when damaged. Mechanical or inflammatory lesions can cause bacterial seeding within the endothelium. In one...

Chronic pain in small animals: how to create a pain management plan

Traditionally, pain was regarded as chronic when it lasted or recurred for more than 3–6 months (Merskey and Bogduk, 1994). This definition presents some limitations, as it does not take into account...

Figure 1. Body condition scoring chart for dogs.

Malnutrition in dogs and cats

There is clear evidence that malnourished people have poorer outcomes in a number of diseases. There is similar evidence in canine and feline medicine to support the notion that malnourished patients...

Endocrine disease in guinea pigs: a review on hyperthyroidism

It is widely agreed that hyperthyroidism in guinea pigs is relatively rare and clinically underdiagnosed (Brandão et al, 2013; Künzel and Mayer, 2015; Di Geronimo and Brandão, 2020). In a study by...

Figure 5. Transverse computed tomography projection showing a heterogeneous contrast-enhancing markedly enlarged metastatic sub-lumbar lymph node (red star)

Managing canine apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinoma

English Cocker Spaniels, Labradors and German Shepherds, followed by Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, were over-represented in a study of British dogs with AGASAC (Polton et al, 2006). Among those...