My students enjoy hearing about the animals I work on. By sharing with them, they are able to learn about veterinary medicine and exotic animals. In every post I have provided 'essential knowledge' for those who wish to learn about or aspire to persue a career in veterinary medicine. Take a moment to read about interesting veterinary cases and learn a little along the way.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Today I worked on an Allen's Swamp Monkey. These old world monkeys, also called guenons, are found in Central Africa and spend a lot of time foraging for fruits, plants and bugs in swampy areas. Today's patient was given a preventative medicine exam which included whole body radiographs, blood work and routine vaccinations. In addition, she received a MGA implant. Melengestrol acetate (MGA) is a birth control method often used in wildlife. MGA is implanted under the skin and affords long term birth control rather than daily medications typical in human females. In primates, MGA implants are generally placed under the skin in the intrascapular region; this area tends to prevent over grooming and trauma to the incision area as primates tend to be more prone to this type of behavior. The implant, about the size of pencil eraser, can be easily placed with a minimal surgical incision. Birth control is one method of managing captive populations of animals and assuring the genetic diversity within a species is maintained.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment