My Veterinary Assistant students were recently introduced to Jon Metthews DVM. Jon, an equine veterianarian and owner of Matthews Equine Services in Ramona, graciously agreed to share his expertise in equine medicne with my students. Jon's expertise, however, reached far beyond traditional western medicine; he discussed treatment options that utilized such eastern medicine concepts like accupuncture, chiropractic and chi energy methods. Additionally, Jon discussed work he has been doing with stem cell therapies in animals. This technology, as Jon indicated, could revolutionize modern medicine, and yet fundementally uses ones own body to facilitate. I always enjoy and appreciate Jon Matthews talking to my students about veterinary medicine. Thanks Jon! For more information about Matthews Equine Services, follow his link:  http://www.matthewsequine.com/

Today I worked on 2 Amur Leopards. These Russian cats weigh about 30kg (~70 pounds) and are heavily furred with long tails. They were immobilized with a cocktail of ketamine, dexmedetomidine and midazolam. They were maintained under anesthesia with the gas anesthetic isoflurane. The purpose for the exam was that of routine screening; therefore radiographs of the chest and abdomen were taken, blood was sampled for CBC and biochemical analysis, and feline serology was submitted. The endotracheal tube used was10mm; as a comparison, a domestic cat would require a 3.5 to 4.0 tube.

photo from wikipedia