DCPAH

Today Tara and I met Dr. Wendy Osman at DCPAH to euthanize 11 cows from the most recently discovered infected herd. 7 calves that came from these cows also had to be euthanized and posted by the doctors and residents at the lab.

So, needless to say, the day didn't start out on a "happy" note. Tara and I both experienced our first euthanasia as far as participating in the injections. We used a solution called Fatal Plus that quickly suppresses the respiratory system and stops the heart beat. The solution worked extremely quick and the cows were not in any pain what so ever. The atmosphere was actually rather calm.

Once the cows were put down outside of the building, they were sent into the lab where many residents waited with Dr. Agnew and Dr. Patterson. We watched the mesenteric lymph nodes, tracheobronchial, ileocecal junction lymph node, and ileum (which I have never heard of) lymph nodes be collected from the body, while a separate station examined the head for retropharyngeals, mandibulars, and parotids.

It was quite the experience, but lets just say I have ruled out wanting to be a pathologist as a veterinarian. Working with dead specimens isn't exactly..... fun. BUT it was a great learning experience and a much better way to study anatomy (since everything isn't yellow from being drenched in formalin).

Dicing up selected lymph nodes for formalin and borate solutions for post examination processes.