Veterinary science and medicine engineering

Medicine is as essential for animal life as it is for human life and thus veterinary science has become an integral part of medicine engineering.

This science is concerned with prevention, control, diagnosis and treatment of ailments caused to animals by using the principles of medicine engineering in manufacturing preventive and curative medicines.
Medicine engineering vis-à-vis veterinary science has assumed more significance in case of food producing animals like cows, goats, and sheep.

Treatment of animals is not a new concept to medicine engineering studies. It was in existence in ancient Egypt and Babylon even in 2000 B.C.
Ancient Greek civilization experienced the rise of so called horse doctors, a group of experts in animal medicine engineering. The Latin version of the term “veterinarius” has gradually evolved into what is called Veterinarian today.

This branch of medicine engineering has already become a corporate clinical practice and is accepted world wide.

Veterinary medicines have contributed immensely to the evolution of medicine engineering.
There are diseases like tuberculosis and bruscellosis which are now being cured with the help of veterinary medicines and use of principles of medicine engineering.
Another important innovation is drug and vaccine developed for control of Marek’s disease that has become a land mark contribution of medicine engineering to veterinary science. Not that the medicine engineering in veterinary field ended with development of pharmaceutical drugs, but it has also taken up surgical techniques too, like the hip-joint replacement and organ transplantation.

Divergence of animal species is a major challenge for veterinary science and so also medicine engineering. Ailments and diseases differ from species to species.
Cats, dogs, chickens, cows, horses, sheep, pigs, goats, all have their own specific organic systems and divergent types of breed diseases, and medicine engineering is concerned with addressing adequately these divergent features of veterinary ailments. Moreover, one specific feature of animal disease is that they differ with age of the animal concerned.

Medicine engineering is therefore also concerned with age syndrome in animal specific diseases. Again, animals could be tame or wild and the symptoms of their ailments differ greatly which the veterinary science with the help of medicine engineering tries to solve.

It is not therefore surprising that there are numerous degrees of programs in veterinary medicine and related medicine engineering.
As on date, there are around 450 such programs worldwide.
The level of training varies greatly among the various countries and around one third of these programs offer doctorate degree in medicine engineering and veterinary science. The studies comprise of classroom studies, as well as practical courses.

Medicine engineering is never a static theoretical subject.
You find several branches like anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, toxicology, nutrition, microbiology, and public health in medicine engineering and veterinary science studies.

Another phase is focused primarily on the clinical science and classroom studies of medicine engineering. Veterinary science vis-à-vis medicine engineering has now become an important part of medical science, where there are numerous subjects, which could be pursued by aspirant students and research scholars.