Module Information

Building upon the content of Principles of Science and other modules from your 1st year, this module will cover a range of areas critical for the veterinary profession. These include common veterinary infectious diseases, cancer, immune responses, veterinary drug treatments and pathology. The module will explore these related veterinary disease topics by using lectures, practicals and seminars to teach key concepts.

The module will be divided into seven main sections: Principles of Pharmacology, General Pathology, Immunology, Oncology, Virology, Bacteriology and Parasitology. Principles of pharmacology will be an introduction to the principles of drug action and toxicity, concepts that form the basis of all future pharmacology and therapeutics teaching. General Pathology will focus on disease, through a series of lectures and practicals that introduce principles of general pathology, covering key characteristics of gross and cellular pathological changes, together with tissue and cellular responses to injury. Immunology will be provided with an integrated series of lectures, directed learning and practical sessions covering the mediators of the immunological responses, diseases related to the immune system and the drugs that can be used to target these mediators. The Oncology section will introduce the key gross, cellular, infectious and molecular features of neoplasia, providing an essential basis for clinical oncology that will be studied in future years of the course. Virology provides an overview of the pathogenesis, diagnosis and epidemiology of viral diseases. Examples of some of the more common viral infections of animals will be used to illustrate key principles of viral infection and the features that permit viruses to evade immune detection. Bacteriology will encompass classification of bacteria, bacterial pathogenicity and immunological responses by the animal to bacterial infections. Additionally, it will introduce the pharmacology of antimicrobial drugs, together with the principles of antimicrobial resistance by bacteria. Parasitology will be taught using a systems-based approach, covering the important characteristics of veterinary endo- and ectoparasites. Teaching will address the epidemiology, pathogenicity, diagnosis and control of parasitic diseases of companion and production animals.