Medicine
Definition
Medicine is the scientifically-based discipline dedicated to the prevention and treatment of disease and injury. In the sense in which it is used here, it is the branch of healing not involving surgery.
Diagnostic medicine
A large part of medicine is devoted to obtaining a diagnosis. This is covered in more detail in the "diagnosis" web pages.
Intensive care
Therapeutic medicine
Medical treatment is used for the majority of conditions and may be combined with surgery. In many cases suportive medical care is an integral part of diagnostic and teratment plans. In such cases blood, concentrated red cell, plasma and platelet rich plasma transfusions may be required. The AMC has the facilities for processing blood products and can often supply dog, cat, sheep and alpaca blood or blood products to nearby veterinary practices.
A wide variety of drugs are available for use in medical treatment. Analgesics, antipyretics, antiinflammatories and antibiotics are used frequently. Airway dilators, circulation modifiers and heart drugs help a variety of conditions. The list goes on and on, but drugs are not the only answer for many conditions.
It is increasingly recognised that diet plays an important part in disease prevention and treatment so sick animals are often put onto special prescription diets to correct imbalance in inpput or provide extra nutrients to assist healing. As well as diets, there are an increasing number of supplements that have been scientifically shown to be of benefit, but beware of the dangers of oversupplementation. Vitamin toxicity is common due to over supplementation and there are a range of dangerous herbal remedies around as well. always check with your vet and if you are giving any spplements or herbal products ensure that your vet knows about them as there is the possibility of cross reactions with drugs.