A Regional Approach to the Dissection of the Dog (2nd Edition)

Description

This is the first edition of the dissection manual A Regional Approach to the Dissection of the Dog. It is designed to be used by DVM students, instructors of anatomy and veterinary interns and residents. In the opinion of the author, the regional approach to dissection emphasizes the clinical application of the subject better than a systemic approach. Since this guide is designed for lab use, descriptive text is kept to a minimum. Students are encouraged to refer to the many excellent gross anatomical texts available to gain in-depth knowledge of the regional and functional anatomy of the dog. In this guide, the dissection steps are highlighted in colored boxes for easy access. Numerous color illustrations are provided to facilitate the identification of the structures being dissected. The guide is organized into nine chapters, and each chapter is designed to be independent of the others as much as anatomically possible to allow the dissector to explore the regional anatomy of different areas of the body. Although description of major blood vessels of a region is included in this guide, less emphasis is placed on identifying their individual branches because:

•  Blood vessels in living animals are highly plastic. If the blood supply to a region is disrupted, angiogenesis
  usually reestablishes adequate perfusion of the region.
• There is a tremendous amount of collateral blood supply to many areas of the body. This may not be
  apparent on gross dissection, but vascular corrosion casts of limbs, for example, indicates a tremendous
  amount of collateral blood supply.
• Except for the major vessels, most minor branches of blood vessels are not surgically important.

This guide also contains a few surgical approaches to some of the long bones of the limbs as well as the shoulder and the elbow joints. In addition, step-wise descriptions accompanied by illustrations are included to facilitate mock amputations of the thoracic and pelvic limb. By performing these surgical procedures, it is my hope that students will appreciate the importance of regional anatomy as they learn basic gross anatomy. With changing curricular pressures in veterinary medical colleges, gross anatomy is one area which will be targeted for substantial reduction in course content and contact hours to accommodate the ‘explosion of knowledge’ in various sciences. This is shortsighted. The need for sound understanding of anatomy and its clinical
and research applications is unlikely to change in the decades to come. It becomes all the more important for instructors to emphasize the clinical and research applications of anatomy, and it also falls on the student to invest more effort and time to gain a sound understanding of the subject.

“Never regard study as a duty but as an enviable opportunity to learn to know the liberating influence of beauty in the realm of the spirit for your own personal joy and to the profit of the community to which your later works belong.”- Albert Einstein