Veterinary Clinical Toxicology

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to briefly describe veterinary clinical toxicology that combines the disciplines diagnostic toxicology, analytical chemistry, and prevention and treatment. Therefore, the answer is deceptively a simple question, did a chemical make an animal sick or kill it, and if so, which chemical? This seemingly simple question may be extremely challenging to answer because chemical testing is often required to confirm the diagnosis. For diagnosis of toxicosis, circumstantial evidence, history, clinical signs, lesions, laboratory examinations, and, in some cases, analytical procedures are valuable but do not replace a thorough clinical and postmortem examination. The most critical samples to be collected are generally stomach contents, liver, kidney, whole blood, plasma/serum, and urine, but exceptions exist, such as cerebral tissue for cholinesterase analysis. Prevention and treatment needs lifesaving measures using other measures such as prevention of further poison absorption, enhancement of poison elimination, supportive treatment, and specific antidote.