Yippee!
The learning started in earnest last term; we really hit the ground
running. Although lectures are only 45 minutes long they cram an
unbelievable amount into this short period and there is a lot of
additional reading necessary to understand the finer details of
the information given in lectures – the actual problem is
knowing where to stop reading! Areas covered last term included
proteins, genetics, welfare and behaviour but the main focus of
last term was alimentary – from teeth to bottom and everything
in-between. If you were on a human medicine course this would probably
take half the time to learn as you only have to worry about a single
body plan – humans.
When you’re studying veterinary medicine it’s slightly
different because just as you thought you had mastered the cow and
its elaborate gastrointestinal tract we moved onto the horse, then
the dog oh and not forgetting pigs, with just a little on elephants
thrown in for good measure! Each species has a slight variation
on the theme from the last. Learning alimentary took a multi-pronged,
very comprehensive approach.
We had to learn the organs involved in feeding and digestion, their
development, structure, anatomic positions, relationships with other
organs, functions, neural innervations, blood supplies and secretions
(including their hormonal controls). Of course you can’t do
alimentary without a little nutrition and metabolism so we also
had to learn buckets of biochemistry too and EXACTLY how fats, carbohydrates
and protein etc are all metabolised!
 The
lectures were complimented with dissections of a foregut fermenter
(a sheep) and a hindgut fermenter (a pony) and a monogastric (a
dog). It wasn’t until I saw the structures in situ that the
anatomy of it all fell into place and made sense. I thoroughly enjoyed
the practical classes as we got ‘hands-on’ and were
really able to appreciate in 3D what we were seeing in lectures
and books.
 It
is just amazing that all the different systems have evolved and
how they are arranged in each species – absolutely fascinating!
The college also has some animals which live at college enabling
us to practise clinical skills, handling and of course to trace
anatomy on the live animal (see picture above). We have 2 ponies,
2 Jersey cows and 2 dogs, whose time we can book and spend as many
sessions with as we wish (just a tip for future students –
if you want to book a pony try to get Pippin as Troy can get a little
bored of pesky students!).
Because we were all off to AHEMS placements over Easter we also
had some preparatory lectures on animal husbandry which included
housing, handling, nutrition, assisting with birthing problems,
care of newborns etc.  On
the last day of term we had mock oral ISF (Integrated Structure
and Function) and practical skills exams – I can’t tell
you how nervous we all were, you’d have thought they were
real exams (as you can see by our ‘post-exam Cheshire cat
grins’ in the picture). We all passed too!
Another important thing I learnt last term was that veterinary
medicine books are the most expensive books on the planet! I have
only bought 5 books but these have cost over £200! To
cap it all I have just heard from a 3rd year student that they are
being advised to buy 2 books on surgery which cost £150 EACH!
(All donations greatly received).
As much as I enjoyed last term I have to say that one of the highlights
was going to watch a post mortem of a crocodile! Yes you read that
correctly a crocodile. It was being done as part of a TV show being
filmed at the RVC – I can’t tell you anymore as its
not been released yet – and I’d have to kill you (but
suffice to say that if you like crocs, elephants, lions, tigers
and giraffes – keep an eye on the TV schedules)!
Oh and in case anyone is wondering I PASSED the
Qualifying Exam last Christmas – yippee!
Judy
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