Preface

Preface to the Second Edition

Students at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine are introduced to Veterinary Clinical Pathology in the second year of their undergraduate program. The course is designed to be highly interactive, and relies heavily on case material. The case-based model of learning provides instant relevance to the subject matter. At the same time, the course is challenging as one must have a sound knowledge base with which to approach the clinical cases. The transformation is remarkable as students learn a new skill and a new language and apply these to problem-solving, generating a list of differential diagnoses, and deciding logical next steps in order to arrive at a definitive diagnosis.

Veterinary Clinical Pathology – An Introduction, 2nd edition, is intended to provide a clear, concise overview of basic mechanisms without overwhelming the reader. The material in this 2nd edition has been revised and up-dated, without greatly expanding the content. As the only author of the 1st edition, I am very happy that my colleagues, Dr. Beverly Kidney, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Nicole Fernandez, University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, agreed to serve as co-authors for this edition. Also, Ms. Brianne Cheng, class of 2018 WCVM, contributed to Dr. Fernandez’s chapter 11: Muscle, several appendices, most of the digital images, and many of the figures and tables.