Clinical Examination of Farm Animals
by Peter G. G. Jackson, Peter D. Cockcroft, University of Cambridge, UK
Paperback 320 pages, over 300 illustrations ISBN 0632057068
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What a change!! How nice to have a book dedicated to the art of veterinary science. In a world obsessed by molecular biology and epidemiology where the sequencer and the personal computer rule, what a treat to have two consummate clinicians, Peter Jackson and Peter Cockroft, take a step back and write something that does not require an enigma machine to decode.
Many facets of clinical examination are not always available to the pig practitioner - how can you reasonably percuss the caudal lobes of the lung of an eight-year-old sow in a paddock on a wet Sunday afternoon in Humberside next to a petrochemical works? At least in the book you are given the wherewithal to try.
For the pig practitioner, working on the last few remaining pigs in the kingdom, who is tempted to remain with farm animals by his transfer to cattle practice (if that also survives the milk price), he will be aided by reading the excellent chapter on the general and specific system examination of cattle. These subjects occupy the first 216 pages of the book and are well worth a read because of the wealth of clinical insight.
Pages 217-247 are occupied by the examination of that species for which the quad bike seems to have been specifically designed. These authors suggest in these 30 odd pages that clinical examination of the sheep can be worthwhile.
Page 251 is the start of our deep interest in this book, where clinical examination of the pig is discussed. The most important examinations are discussed in detail and this is where the book is most useful in suggesting the correct course of action for effective, quiet examination, which is essential when we first start out. They do not wade into grabbing a pig without first looking at its environment. The twenty-six pages devoted to the pig include observations on sows and boars, as well as piglets. The clinician's checklist is an excellent summary of what can be gained from a decent clinical examination of a pig.
At the end of the book there are even 18 pages for that rare breed - the goat "aficionado."
The drawings throughout the book are a masterpiece as they very simply illustrate the key body components of what is being described - a very clever, successful idea.
There is only a small bibliography which is excellent for a book on art, not science, but there are three extremely useful appendices for normal physiological values, haematology reference values and biochemical laboratory reference values. This is just enough to link the art and science and all that is required as a final chapter to an excellent book. There is a very comprehensive index.
It is a book for all, but most particularly, the student and new graduate who have to "discover" art rather than remember and disgorge science. The authors are to be congratulated on a book for an easy read, that is good value and, in this day and age, will remind us all of what the key essence of clinical science is all about.
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0EL, UKReview by Prof. Stan H. Done
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