Since1854, when the first veterinary college in the United States was established, veterinary medicine has grown to the stature of a highly diversified profession with nearly 30,000 doctors of veterinary medicine hi North America.

Veterinary medicine is an autonomous profession having its own system of education, licensure, and organization, and adhering to a strict code of ethics.

As the profession has advanced scientifically and its members have become more numerous, the affairs of veterinary medicine have become increasingly complex. The profession today has many facets. Not only are veterinarians actively engaged in diagnosis, treatment, and control of a broad spectrum of diseases among many species of animals, but they are also key members in the nation's medical, public health, research, and military teams.

Demands for veterinary medical services continue to rise. A recent report estimates that North America will need 44,000 veterinarians or almost twice today's number, by 1980.

Veterinary Medical Education
There are 18 colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States, and three in Canada. Most are associated with a public university. Collectively, they graduate approximately 1,150 veterinarians each year.

The number of faculty members — engaged hi teaching and in research — was 1,850 at the begin-ingof 1970.

In 1969, 1,538 students entered veterinary colleges. Almost 30 per cent had acquired academic degrees prior to entering the professional school. Today, nearly 800 veterinarians are taking post doctoral courses at schools of veterinary medicine.

Veterinary student enrollment for the 1969-70 academic year reached a record high of 5,471, including 490 women students.

The Veterinary Medical Curriculum. All veterinary schools require a minimum of two years of pre-veteri-nary college study for entrance, and four additional years of professional study for graduation and the conferring of the degree of doctor of veterinary medicine (D.V.M. or V.M.D.). However, the average number of years spent in college prior to entering a veterinary school is three and one-third years. Therefore, the typical student graduating as a doctor of veterinary medicine has spent just over seven years in college. Before a veterinarian can practice in a state he must obtain that state's license by passing an examination given by its board of veterinary examiners.

The curriculum at a veterinary medical school is in many respects similar to that offered in medical schools. In fact, hi some of the basic courses such as bacteriology, immunology, histology, and others the material is virtually identical in all fields of medicine. Only in the advanced courses do medical concepts and applications begin to be more specifically confined to the various species of domestic animals.

Classroom Subjects
Veterinary students devote some 5,000 class hours, including clinical experience, to subjects such as anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pathology, microbiology, biochemistry, surgery, medicine, public health, preventive medicine, and parasitology.

Consequently, today's graduate veterinarian is a medically trained, scientifically oriented professional person capable of rendering many services and accepting wide responsibilities in all areas of animal health and in many areas of public health.

Typical Curriculum of a Veterinary Medical College
FIRST YEAR
Gross Anatomy of Domestic Animals
Neuroanatomy
Histology and Embryology
Animal Husbandry
Physiological Chemistry
Physiology
Animal Genetics
Botany
SECOND YEAR
Radiobiology
Physiology
Experimental Physiology
Bacteriology and Immunology Laboratory
General Pathology
General Pathology Laboratory
Special Pathology
Special Pathology Laboratory
Parasitology
Animal Husbandry
Pharmacology
Public Health
THIRD YEAR
Public Health and Preventive Medicine
General Surgery
Surgical Exercises
Non-Infectious Diseases
Infectious Diseases of Large Animals
Small Animal Medicine
Small Animal Surgery
Applied Anatomy
Obstetrics
Clinical Pathology
Special Surgery
Diseases of Poultry
Roentgenology
FOURTH YEAR
Large Animal Surgery
Small Animal Surgery
Special Pathology
Jurisprudence, Ethics, and Business Methods
Clinical Conferences
Clinics
Laboratory Animal Medicine
Toxicology
Nutrition

New Animal Program
A new program at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana campus—the first of its kind in the nation—will provide young people with an opportunity to earn a college degree and at the same time prepare themselves for a career working with dogs.

In the program "Companion Animal Biology," students study nutrition, genetics and physiology as well as dogs and kennel management. Graduates of the four-year program will be well-qualified to operate a pet store, boarding or grooming business, or a handling business. The program will also provide students with an excellent background if they want to become dog-breeders, or if they want to pursue a career in teaching or research in companion-animal biology.

According to D. E. Becker, head of the Animal Science Department, the program is an outgrowth of society's rapidly growing interest in companion-animals. He estimates that 38 percent of the nation's households own dogs and 20 percent own cats. Petfood sales are estimated to be a two-billion dollar-per-year industry.

"The animal science option is not the same as programs offered in the College of Veterinary Medicine," Becker says. "The veterinarians concentrate on disease treatment and prevention. Animal scientists concentrate on nutrition and biological management," he explains.