Today I worked on a Polar Bear. These large top predators are known for eating seals, but also eat vegitation. The bear today weighed 220kg (440 pounds) with paws as round as basketballs. Anesthesia was induced with an injectable anesthetic called Telazol. Anesthesia was maintained with isoflurane and respiration was supplimented with mechanical ventilation. As you might imagine, a bear of this size has a fairly large lung capacity or tidal volume. To calculate the tidal volume of an animal, it is assumed that 10-20ml of oxygen is required for each kilogram of body weight (10-20ml/kg). Using this relationship, the tidal volume for this bear would be between 2-4 liters per breath. An adult human, for comparison, has a tidal volume of between 0.7-1.4 liters per breath. Oh yeah, she required a 20mm endotracheal tube!

Today I worked on a Harris' Hawk. These medium sized raptors weigh approximately 1kg or 2.2 pounds. Just as a comparison, your average domestic cat, about the size of a Harris' Hawk, might weigh 3kg. Birds are actually much lighter than they look. This bird needed a blood sample; it was taken from the right jugular vein as expected (if you have been reading my blogs). I find that taking blood samples from birds while they are in an upright position is less stressful for the bird and causes fewer hematoma formations. A hematoma is simply a blood filled mass; this occurs when an animal bleeds from the vessel where the blood sample was taken. Hematoma formation can be minimized when the vessel is held off after sampling and an appropriate sized needle is used. Hematomas can be life threatening in small birds as it can lead to significant blood loss. To calculate the safe amount of blood that can be removed from a mammal or bird consider the following: In general,  an animals blood volume is ten percent of its body weight in grams. In general, it is safe to take ten percent of an animals blood; therefore we can safely take one percent of the animals weight in grams. This means we can take 1ml of blood for every 100g of body weight; we could have taken 10ml from the Harris' Hawk.

Today I worked on a Black Duiker. This medium sized ungulate (hoofed animal) weighed 20 kilograms or about 44 pounds. Duikers are in a group of animals called ruminants. Ruminates such as deer, cows and duikers spend a lot of time eating and re-eating their food. Their stomachs consist of 4 chambers, each chamber aiding in the digestion of food. Part of the digestive process in ruminants as well as other herbivores is the ability to pulverize the plant material effectively enough so the plant can be digested. These animals use their teeth to grind their food, and can often times be seen moving their lower jaw across their upper jaw in a sideways motion. In order for them to be able to make this motion, their teeth must be fairly flat without any sharp edges or points. Horses require periodic teeth grinding to remove sharp points from their teeth; this procedure is often called 'floating' of the teeth. The Black Duiker had this procedure done as well.

Today I worked on a Lesser Kudu similar to the one pictured above. These large antelope have 2 toes on each foot making them an artiodactyl animal, but if you have been following along, you already know that. The juvenile I was working on was a 2 week old male whose mother didn't know how to take care of him. We call this a failure of passive transfer, because in cases like these, the infants don't receive needed nourishment and antibodies from mom. These antibodies are important for a young animal to be able to fend off diseases. Colostrum, also known as first milk, is full of these important antibodies; if a kid is unable to nurse, for whatever reason, the antibodies are not transferred. My role today was to take a simple blood sample so that his blood cell composition (CBC) and biochemistry values could be determined. Being a young kudu, he was easy to handle without any sedatives or anesthetics, but when he grows up that will not be possible. Thanks to ARKIVE.org and James Warwick for the picture of the kudu. ARKIVE.org is a great resource for pictures and information on many of the species of animals of the world.

Today I worked on several passerine birds. Passerines are the largest bird group, accounting for more than half of the over ten thousand bird species in the world. These birds include sparrows, swallows, thrushes, and tanagers to name a few. As a Registered Veterinary technician, my role in a bird procedure usually includes anesthetic induction and maintenance, diagnostics including radiography as well as sample collection. Bird blood sampling can be obtained from several vessels, the most prominent is the jugular vein. Why didn't I say veins?, because birds have streamlined several of their anatomical structures including the jugular veins. In birds, the jugular vein can be found on the right side of the neck; the left jugular is vestigial or absent. In most birds, like passerines, the jugular vein can easily be seen due to a featherless track in that area. In some birds such as ducks and geese, there is no featherless tract, making sample collection more challenging. So, if you are a vampire, go for the birds' right jugular vein!

Last week I had the pleasure of graduating my tenth Veterinary Assistant I class. The wonderful students spent nearly 90 hours with me learning about veterinary medicine. They had to endure a lot of new concepts and a few of my old jokes. Some were able to spend time in veterinary practices while they were taking the class; this  was a great way for them to apply classroom didactic with hands on experience. One student became gainfully employed as a result of this program; to her and all her classmates I congratulate you! In case you didn't notice,  I had the students dress in surgical 'caps and gowns'!

Today I worked on a Eurasian Lynx. This large felid, weighed in at over 26 kilograms or about 60 pounds. This species is native to Europe and Asia but has a appearance very much like our local bobcat. Dental work was performed on this cat, as well as radiographs, bloodwork and routine vaccinations. I placed a 20 gauge intravenous catheter in his cephalic vein and provided him with fluids during the procedure. IV fluids are a great way to provide hydration and help maintain blood pressure during long anesthetic procedures. Because of the dental work being done, it was important to intubate him with an endotracheal tube. Endotracheal tubes are used to provide a patent connection from the patient to the anesthetic machine; if needed, the patient could be mechanically ventilated easily by having this tube in place. An 8.5mm endotracheal tube was placed in the lynx. For comparison, your domestic cat would require a 3.5-4mm tube.

Today I worked on a Baja Pronghorn. These medium sized antelope are endemic to North America and are known for their great speed and are considered the fasted land mammal of North America. Pronghorn are among a group of animals with even numbered toes; a condition known as artiodactyla. This animal received a routine exam that included anesthesia, radiographs, physical exam, and a variety of preventative medicine drugs to protect it from disease. After initial induction with injectable drugs, anesthesia was maintained with isoflurane, a gas anesthetic. This anesthetic gas is commonly used in veterinary medicine because of its ease of use and relatively low cost. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein in order to evaluate cellular composition, also known as a complete blood count (CBC) and biochemistry profile. Blood was collected with the use of a vacutainer; this is the same equipment used when you have your blood taken. After the procedure, the Pronghorn was quickly recovered without complication.