Veterinary Anatomy Courses

Veterinary Neurobiology is a two-credit core course in the veterinary curriculum. It is taught to first-year veterinary students during the first six weeks of the second semester. The course consists of 18 lectures, 8 labs (22 hours), and two or more exams. Approval of instructors is required for CVM 6120 registration.

Veterinary Neurobiology focuses on the anatomy and physiology of the central nervous system (brain & spinal cord) and special senses (eye, ear, olfaction, & taste). The canine brain is used to present neuronatomy, with particular reference to clinical localization of lesions. Following neurohistology and neuroembryology considerations, neuroanatomy is studied on sections of canine brains and embalmed canine and sheep brains. (Peripheral nervous system is studied in gross anatomy, a prerequisite course.)

Course Administration:
         Instructors
         Class Schedule & Syllabus
         Textbooks
         Examinations
         Grading
         Lecture and Lab Presentations
         Computer-Assisted Instruction

Instructors:

         A. J. Beitz, PhD (Office: 235b AS/VM; Phone: 612-624-4994; E-mail: beitz001@umn.edu)

        T. F. Fletcher, DVM, PhD (Office: 235c AS/VM; Phone: 612-624-9765; E-mail: fletc003@umn.edu)

        P. J. Skinner, PhD (Office: 339 VetSci; Phone: 612-624-2644; E-mail: skinn002@umn.edu)

        L. Vulchanova-Hart, PhD (Office: 295b AS/VM; Phone: 612-626-4073; E-mail: vulch001@umn.edu)

Class schedule and Syllabus:
CVM 6120 Veterinary Neurobiology is taught during the first six weeks of the second semester. In general, classes meet Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 1:00 PM in room 125 AS/VM. Labs are held in 104 AS/VM on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. The CVM 6120 Schedule lists topics per class period. It and the CVM 6120 Syllabus may be downloaded:

Click to view the following administrative handouts as pdf files:
Schedule of Classes
Syllabus

Textbooks:
A text book is not neccessary for this course, aside from the Class Notes and Laboratory Guide that students purchase and Guide to the Dissection of the Dog (seventh edition, 2010, by H.E. Evans and A. deLahunta. W.B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia).
The following textbook resources are available on reserve in the Veterinary Library:

DeLahunta A, Veterinary Neuroanatomy and Clinical Neurology (2008). Because this book is organized somewhat differently than the course, it offers another perspective. A strength of the book is its clinical content which is useful later in the curriculum.
Beitz AJ & Fletcher TF, Brain and Spinal Cord Chapters in Anatomy of the Dog course, but it has some nice illustrations.
Any anatomy or physiology text will present nervous system function and structure.

Examinations:
There will be two examinations plus to-be-announced quizzes in the course. The nature and value of each exam/quiz is described in the course Syllabus.

Grading:
       Letter grades will be assigned on a percentage basis as follows:
             A = 90-100%
             B = 80-89%
             C = 70-79%
             D = 65-69%
             F = below 65%

Lecture and Lab Presentations:

Lecture:

You will be tested on lecture content and the content of the printed lecture notes produced by CVM 6120 faculty.
Small-type item are less likely to be on the exam than large-type items.
(You may click to view the lecture notes as pdf files at screen resolution (72 ppi): Neurobiology Lecture Notes)
You will not be tested on the Clinical Neurology session presented by Dr. Hardy from the Small Animal Clinical Science Department.

Laboratory:

Lab introductions will be given in Rm. 125 at the start of each lab.
For each Laboratory, the CVM 6120 Laboratory Guide that you purchased provides instructions regarding the subject matter to be studied on gross brains and glass slides. You will be tested on the underlined & bold terms in the Guide. The terms your must know are summarized in a Neuroanatomy Lab Terms List.
Lab demonstration material will be displayed during each Lab period for purposes of subject matter clarification and enrichment.

      You may click to view (as 72 ppi screen-resolution pdf files) the following Lab documents that students purchase:
       Laboratory Guide
       Neuroanatomy Lab Terms

Computer-Assisted Instruction:

Web-based Courseware:
A number of web sites are available for independent study. They may be accessed via Veterinary Neurobiology Web Sites list.