Veterinarians

A veterinarian or a veterinary surgeon often shortened to vet, is an animal physician and a practitioner of veterinary medicine. The word comes from the Latin veterinae meaning "draught animals." The word "veterinarian" was first used in English by Thomas Browne. '''Although veterinarians in many countries may have been awarded with doctoral degrees and receive extensive training in veterinary medical practice, there are many career fields open to those with veterinary degrees other than clinical practice. Those that do work in clinical settings often practice medicine in specific fields, such as companion animal or "pet" medicine, livestock medicine, equine medicine, laboratory animal medicine, reptile medicine, or ratite medicine or they may specialize in medical disciplines such as surgery, dermatology or internal medicine, after post-graduate training and certification. Many veterinarians pursue post-graduate training and enter research careers and have contributed many advances in many human and veterinary medical fields, including pharmacology. Research veterinarians were the first to isolate oncoviruses, Salmonella species, Brucella species, and various other pathogenic agents. Veterinarians were in the fore-front in the effort to suppress malaria and yellow fever in the United States, and a veterinarian was the first to note disease caused by West Nile Virus in New York zoo animals. Veterinarians determined the identity of the botulism disease-causing agent; produced an anticoagulant used to treat human heart disease; and developed surgical techniques for humans, such as hip-joint replacement, and limb and organ transplants.