Department Descriptions

Department of Equine Medicine and Surgery:

The Department of Equine Medicine and Surgery faculty teach, study, diagnose, and treat medical and surgical disorders of horses. The department is involved in classroom and laboratory teaching and is responsible for providing both ambulatory and haul-in clinical services for horses. Members of the department are board-certified in large animal internal medicine or large animal surgery.

Department of Farm Animal Medicine and Surgery:

The Department of Farm Animal Medicine and Surgery comprises faculty who teach veterinary students in preclinical courses and on clinical rotations. The faculty are specialists who provide primary care and specialized services in medicine, surgery, and reproduction in cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, llamas, alpacas, and backyard poultry. Clinical services are provided to animals by the farm animal ambulatory clinic or on-site at the Large Animal Clinic. The faculty also engage in scientific research involving farm animals.

Department of Pathology:

The Department of Pathology includes faculty and technical experts in anatomic pathology, clinical pathology, microbiology, and zoological medicine who provide teaching throughout the veterinary curriculum, as well as individual and collaborative research with an emphasis on infectious diseases and pathogenesis. The department also provides diagnostic services to internal and external veterinarians (private veterinary clinics, USDA, the AZ state veterinarian, law enforcement agencies, humane societies, county animal control offices, zoos, and wildlife sanctuaries) located within and outside of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. The department also maintains a three resident training program for veterinarians preparing to take the American College of Veterinary Pathology (ACVP) board examination in anatomic pathology.

Department of Small Animal Primary Care:

The Small Animal Primary Care Department is unique among North American veterinary colleges, with the primary emphasis on teaching Day-One ready competencies to veterinary students. Its faculty provide didactic and clinical teaching in areas of small animal general practice, exotics, and clinical communications. Shelter Medicine faculty in this department utilize a mobile clinic to provide hands-on shelter medicine experiences for veterinary students, while providing surgical services and basic medical care to under-resourced areas of the region.

Department of Specialty Medicine:

Faculty members in the Department of Specialty Medicine provide teaching, research, and advanced clinical services in a wide variety of small animal specialty disciplines. The faculty includes specialists in small animal internal medicine, small animal surgery, neurology, cardiology, and anesthesiology. The College’s urgent care faculty as well as its small animal clinical internships are housed in this department.