Veterinary Medicine: An Overview of Neurology in the Dog and Cat will fine tune the practitioner’s knowledge of the canine and feline nervous system. The participant will better identify neurologic disease in patients and localize the lesion within the nervous system (forebrain, brainstem, spinal cord, peripheral nervous system). The course gives strong focus on the neurologic exam as well as formulating differential diagnoses based on signalment and history. A general knowledge base of neurodiagnostic tests is covered.
Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- develop comprehensive history taking protocols
- categorize the sign-time graph for patients with vascular, trauma, metabolic, and neoplastic neurologic disease
- create an effective neurological examination and lesion localization protocol
- differentiate between levels of consciousness
- differentiate between decerebrate, decerebellate, and Schiff-Sherrington posture
- differentiate the gait of a patient with orthopedic vs. neurologic disease
- differentiate between proprioceptive ataxia, vestibular ataxia and, cerebellar ataxia
- name each cranial nerve, describe its function, and major brain origination section
- outline the clinical signs of unilateral dysfunction of cranial nerves III, IV, VI, VII, and XII
- define and identify normal and abnormal nystagmus
- list the general components of the reflex arc
- describe the pathway of the cutaneous trunci reflex
- differentiate between superficial and deep pain perception
- identify abnormal neurologic signs associated with forebrain and brainstem dysfunctions
- compare and contrast central vs. peripheral vestibular disease
- identify nerves often concurrently affected by disease of the peripheral vestibular system
- list differential diagnoses for peripheral and central vestibular disease
- describe a patient with cerebellar disease
- define the clinical signs associated with a complete resection at the following spinal cord sites: C3, C6-T2, T12, L4-S2
- describe the neurologic signs of peripheral nerve, neuromuscular junction, and muscle dysfunction
- list the common forebrain, brainstem, and spinal cord diseases based on the VITAMIN-D acronym for dogs and cats
- develop a diagnostic plan for patients with brain, spinal cord disease, and peripheral nervous system disease
- determine when a cerebrospinal fluid analysis is indicated in a neurologic patient
- determine when CT is preferable to MRI in patients with neurologic disease
Completion requirements:
Instructor Graded Interactive Critical Thinking and Case Scenario Assignments: Designed to help the participant apply the newly learned skills and knowledge via implementation focused and patient based scenarios provided by the instructor.
Comprehension Quizzes: Must be submitted with a score of 80% or better, multiple attempts
Course Survey
A certificate of completion is provided.
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