#Veterinary Microscopes

[drferox]

Beesting from a dog foot 🐝

[impostorhottie]

Canine Histopathology

[givemeasword-callmequeen]

This is a whole universe of crystals

The poor cat this most hurt as hell

[djdjsjsnnn]

Ear mites

[ssasides205]

hate that I keep baiting the vld fandom, but bio-nerd Lance au

it's widely accepted in fandom that Lance's other choice was marine biology (this leads very well into xenobiology, for reasons), so we more or less already think of him as a bio nerd

but I wanna take it all the way, bc I figure that xenobiology probs has crossover with more than just zoology.I don't know you, but I firmly believe aliens could be fungi-creatures, the xenobilogist has to know about mycology, it just makes sense.

so, a combo of several living organism biologies, so other than animals and insects, also plants and fungi as mentioned.

also, it's a fandom thing that Lance worked part-time as a lifeguard, so he def knows first aid, and that got me thinking abt veterinary studies (and the apocalypse, but we're not sitting on that, even if it fits)

and anyway, field scientist Lance, is the idea. Mainly bc I think it's weird that in fics it's always Pidge that does the figuring alien ailments? when she's a tech student?? she might know the basic biology all students had (which space school, science was up there), but it's not her area of study/expertise, let me give it to someone else (Lance)

also, it'd make sense with Hunk always bringing him to the kitchen when they get new ingredients, bc Lance can figure out if they're edible

Lance finding the castle library and getting info on bio stuff from all over the universe bc he's a nerd

they're all nerds, let them be nerds, have them exited abt learnign abt space shit, give them the wonder of discovery

this got away from me and started bc I imagined lance with a microscope looking at the components of the ship's pool to figure out if it was safe for him to swim in. I don't actually know enough abt bio to write this, take it from my hands

[fireinthefireproofvault]

Hammelburg University Chapter 1 (Hogan's Heroes College AU)

(My first Hogan's Heroes fic 🥳 Nothing too deep or revolutionary, just wanted to have some silly fun! This chapter is mostly just introductions and setup before we really get started hehe~)

For all they said about Germany, they sure had nice labs. The H.U. laboratory spaces were nothing like the little rooms with chipped white-painted tables and a few beakers and microscopes back in Indiana community college. Real equipment walled the whole place and even sat as decoration if the spectrometer on the professor's desk was anything to go off of. Heck, that was the most advanced spectrometer Andrew had ever seen, not that he'd ever really seen one in person before. But if he had, he was sure it wouldn't be as fancy as that. Too bad they wouldn't need it for this class.

This class. At the thought, he gulped, nerves shooting back up, but they were quickly interrupted by the scrape of the chair at his side. Oh boy, a neighbor! Lab partner! Little guy. Short dark hair and dark eyes. Neatly kept. All his pencils were lined up and his textbook looked positively immaculate. Must be smart.

"Some class this is gonna be, huh? I'm a little scared, to be honest."

"Don't tell me you took this class as an elective." Snippy as the words, lightly accented, could have been, they were delivered with humor and a smug little smile that had Andrew smiling back.

"No way! I'm a Chem major. I have to take stuff like this the whole time. I had my choice for this slot, so I thought 'why not biochem?' It's the kind I know the least about. What about you?"

"For my major, too, though I had no choice in the matter. All the medical majors need a good foundation."

"Medical? Wow, are you going to be a doctor?"

"In a sense," the little guy smiled again, this one devoid of humor in lieu of something sweeter and more idealistic, "Veterinary Science."

"Ooh, that's great! My aunt had a great vet when her dog got sick- said it made all the difference in the world. Gave him five stars on Yelp and everything! Bet you'll get five stars too one day."

"There's just one little hurdle to get past."

"What's that?"

"I still faint at the sight of blood."

~

The classroom was pretty standard.  Close enough to what they had back in the States and clearly set up for the debates that Robert so anxiously looked forward to.  Big part of why he was a law student, after all.  Not one, but two podiums stood eyeing down the sea of chairs waiting for their chance to see their bearers take the stage, verbally and psychologically duking it out.

As it stood, first class was always for introductions.  Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of all the other students.  A cursory glance around the already-filled seats found Robert a fun one, urged his feet forward to the seat he’d claim for the semester’s duration.

Eager look.  Short, dark hair prematurely thinning a little bit.  Pity.  Black hair, blue eyes, proud features made infinitely more haughty by, of all things, a monocle.  Slight upturn in the nose working with the tiny lens and its accompanying squint to paint the picture of one attending a prestigious university on daddy’s money.  Oh, yes, Robert liked the looks of this one.

“Lemme guess— long line of lawyers?”

The young man looked startled, tilted his head with puzzlement as he fixed Rob with a good straight-on look for the first time, taking in his mild, quizzical smile and cheekily raised brows before raising his own.

“How did you know?”

Nailed it.  His voice managed to come across simultaneously confident and wavering.  Money.  German accent, too— perhaps a Hammelburg native?  No, not with clothes that nice.  That turtleneck was practically hand-tailored the way it hugged his lean figure.  Probably Berlin.

“All the best lawyers go here,” Robert pointed out, “And who better to usher in the next generation than the guys who already made their millions?  Robert Hogan, by the way.  Friends just call me Hogan.”

“Wilhelm Klink.”  The young man opposite Robert straightened.  Paused.  One moment, two.  A wide smile.  “Friends just call me Klink.”

“Sure they do,” Rob smiled back, giving a little shake of his head, “The gang back in Berlin?”

Repeat performance.  “How did you know?”

“I’m psychic.  Would you like me to read your palm next?”

~

“Need some help with that?”

Peeling his eyes from the teetering textbook-student union tray-starbucks spread between both arms, Kinch was met with the sight of a guy in a long blue coat and, curiously, sporting a watch on each wrist.  Cocking an eyebrow, he smiled coolly.

“Sure, if you don’t mind grabbing the starbucks.”

“Heading to a table?”

Judging by the accent, the timepiece connoisseur was a bloke from England.  Hammelburg University boasted a surprising number of international students.  Students like Kinch himself, not that Mister Fish and Chips had as much to prove.

“Yeah,” Kinch nodded, “Any by the wall?”

“Your wish is my command.”  Waving a hand, the brit guide-dogged Kinch to the edge of the student union, spilling not a drop of his starbucks even as he swept all the trash and napkins off the table with a flourish, holding up a finger.  “But for a price.  I need the outlet, too.”

“Be my guest.”

“Good thing I’ve got an hour here.  My phone’s almost dead,” he remarked as he plugged in.

“Me too,” Kinch told him, “I don’t suppose you’re in Econ 1?”

Those big blue eyes widened alongside the grin beneath them.  “Well, how do you like that?  Have you bought your textbook already?  If so, have I got a proposition for you.  Peter Newkirk, by the way.”

“The artist formerly known as James Kinchloe.”

It was Peter’s turn to cock an eyebrow at that.

“Everyone just calls me Kinch,” the aformentioned ‘artist’ added with a shrug and a sip of his German starbucks, “Now I don’t suppose your proposition has anything to do with sharing a textbook, does it?”

“I like to think of it more like ‘joint study sessions’.  A little symbiotic relationship, if you will.”

Kinch grinned.  “Save that for biology— you’ve already got yourself a deal.”

“Thank you,” Peter rested a hand over his heart, “For saving me from a life of crime downloading illegal PDFs.  That’s the gateway, they always say.”

“I thought that was weed.”

“Yeah, well, I already tried that and I didn’t like it very much.”

“Really?  You?”

“Yeah, don’t like the smell much and it made me a little too—  Oi, wait, what’s that supposed to mean?”

~

“What are you looking at?”

“Your ring, of course.  Everything else you have is the same as mine.”

“What about it?  It’s a family crest!”

“Quite ostentatious.”

“Like your sweater isn’t designer!”

“I never said it wasn’t.  You might notice that it is only solid grey, though.”

The young man frowned.  Glanced down and then back up with those suspiciously narrowed brown eyes.  Said nothing, of course.

Albert tried again, extending an olive branch he didn’t particularly mind the acceptance status of.  “Prosecution?”

This time, a tight smile.  “Of course.”

“Then we have that in common.  Albert.”

Albert extended a hand, his seatmate took it.  “Wolfgang.”

“And what are those two in front of us doing?  It looks like…a palm reading?”

“Would you two knock that off?”  Wolfgang hissed at the students seated at the desk directly in front of them, knocking their joined hands apart with his.

The guy in the leather jacket, the one who’d been tracing a finger over the lines of the other’s in a clear display of bullshit, shrugged and fixed Wolfgang with a devil-may-care smile.

“Why, you wanted your turn?”

Had this been a cartoon, Wolfgang would surely have had one of those little veins drawn upon his forehead.  “The professor just walked in!”

“Ah,” Leather Jacket nodded, tilting his head in mock thought, “You’re right.  I should do him next— might get me some extra credit.”

Snickering to himself, Albert gave one final glance between Wolfgang and Leather Jacket and shook his head.  Wouldn’t this be a fun semester?

~

The paths between buildings—towering, old, and stone—were immaculately paved and clean.  Not a wad of gum or piece of trash in sight, at least not where Robert and Wilhelm exited their class.  Only smooth, evenly spaced light grey stones to greet his boots with each tap toward the student union.  They’d even put in flower beds along the way, filled with bright blue cornflowers of all things.  Ugh.  Robert shook his head before glancing back Wilhelm’s way.

“Hey, how about an after-class starbucks?  My treat.”

“But you came in with a starbucks,” Wilhelm protested.

Robert shrugged.  “Yeah, but the barista was so hot, I’m kinda hoping she’s still working.  Campus sure knows how to make their money.”

“She was… that pretty, huh?”

“Gorgeous.  Enough to give anyone a caffeine addiction.”

“Alright, if you really want to spend your money on me, who am I to say no?  Lead the way,” Wilhelm replied, sweeping a hand toward the student union.

“And lemme guess, your usual’s a venti with a lot of add-in shit?”

“Hazelnut syrup is not shit!”

“Sure, man,” Robert smirked, sticking his hands in his jacket pockets, “Sure.”

He watched Wilhelm stew in his thoughts— whatever those were— all the way up that neat trail and between the great glass union doors.  All up those old wooden steps, heavy and sturdy beneath the weight of every student passing through them.  Starbucks awaited at beyond the stairwell’s open arms.  Those and the long-ass line winding out the doors and nearly out to the study tables.

“Long line.”

“I see that.”

“If you wanna pass the time, we could finish your palm reading,” Robert offered, extending his hand.

Squinting down at it, then back up into his eyes, Wilhelm said, “Forget it” and promptly pulled out his phone.  iPhone 16.  Tch.  Leaning over his shoulder when they shuffled forward in line, Robert watched a tiktok alongside him.  One of an older guy playing a classical violin.

“He’s good,” he remarked with a nod down to the screen, “You like the violin?”

Pulling his phone away, turning it off and sliding it into his pocket, all while maintaining firm eye contact, Wilhelm broke into a proud grin.  “Like it?  I play it.  I’m a music minor.”

“Oh, yeah?  Do you have any videos of yourself playing?”

What followed was an entire caffeine-and-sex-driven shuffle into corporate coffee purgatory soundtracked by the pained cries of a tortured violin cradled beneath the loving grip of Wilhelm, who for the first time Robert wondered at the possibility of deafness.

“So?  What do you think?”

“I think you’re next to order,” Robert deflected, scooting him closer to the counter, where a second, different hot barista stood, “Go get ‘em, tiger.”

“Wait,” Wilhelm floundered, turning back, “What do I say?”

“Venti with three pumps of extra shit, remember?”

“One venti with three pumps of extra sh-  Hmph!”  Wilhelm waved a hand.  “Who needs you?”

“Her, if I’m lucky,” Robert shot back with a smile and a nod to Hot Barista Two, whose name tag read Hilda, “One grande Americano…”

“For the grande Americano?”  Wilhelm mocked, arms crossed tight along his turtleneck.

“Hey, I like that!  Mind if I steal it?”

Hilda giggled, asking Wilhelm to repeat his order one more time before taking their pay and waving them off.

“What, do you follow all those ‘how do you open’ accounts on twitter?”

“Stick with your violin videos, that’s all weird incel shit.”

“Weird incel sh— whoa!”

Before the two of them could even bustle past the line and find a table, someone had bumped into Wilhelm, sending a bit of his venti hazelnut mocha splattering onto his loafers.

“Dummkopf!  These are expensive,” he whined, waving a pitiful hand over them instead of acting.

Handing him a napkin, Robert got a good look at the guy who’d crashed into them.  Big guy, tall and broad-shouldered.  Just broad in general.  Large hands held at his sides, he peered down with wide blue eyes at Wilhelm’s wealthy angst.

“I was not trying to!  I swear I just wanted to go find a table.  I did not even see you!  I saw nothing!  I did not even see my own feet.”

“Yeah, I bet.  You’re fine.  Wanna come sit with us?”

“Robert,” Wilhelm was still whining, “Why?”

“Answered your own question, buddy,” Robert responded, slinging an arm around him and standing him back up, marching their little troupe of three over to the array of tables, all of which seemed to be occupied by study groups, couples, and the like.

“’ey, Schultzie, looking for a table?”

The voice, eager and British, belonged to a guy in blue who was wearing two watches for some reason.  Sat across from him was a guy about the same age, handsome and dark-skinned, clad in a jacket and beanie, and seemingly working on a mustache.

“Friends of yours?”

“Yes,” the big guy replied with a smile, “From my Econ class!”

“Look at us,” Robert said, arms still around both German students as he marched them over, “Day One and already a big happy family.”

[deadbirdlife]

Transparent mouse breakthrough!!

Ou et al. found that applying a food dye (tartrazine) to the skin of live, hairless mice turned the skin temporarily/reversibly transparent!

The dye molecule absorbs in the near ultraviolet and blue region of the light spectrum, and changes the refractive properties of the aqueous (water-containing) portion of the skin to match the lipid (fat) portion of the skin, such that the refractive index in the red part of the spectrum is increased without increasing absorption. This essentially allows not-blue (mostly red) light waves to pass through the skin with minimal scattering, hit muscles, organs, and other internal structures, and pass back through the skin to our eyes, allowing us to see "inside" the mice. They tested this in three regions on the mice: in the abdomen to view fluorescent protein–labeled enteric neurons to track gut motility, in the scalp to visualize cerebral blood vessels, and in the hind limb to visualize individual sarcomeres (microscopic muscle units).

Initial safety tests seem promising, although further experiments are needed to fully explore how safe it is to dump that much dye into the skin.

Note: this doesn't mean we'll be able to do this to humans, exactly; human skin is much thicker than mouse skin, and we have far thicker fat between our skin/muscles/abdominal walls/organs, which will interfere with penetration. However, if safety tests bear out...this could have really cool implications for small animal veterinary medicine, biomedical research, microscopy, and any other settings where noninvasive internal imaging of small, thin-skinned animals is needed.

Article: Zihao Ou et al., Achieving optical transparency in live animals with absorbing molecules. Science 385 , eadm6869 (2024). DOI: 10.1126/science.adm6869

[audible-smiles]

…heart worms?

Heartworms! Dirofilaria immitis, the "cruel dread thread". (It's very difficult for humans to avoid assigning sadistic motives to parasites.)

Heartworms are nematodes, aka roundworms, which are one of the most diverse and widespread phyla of animals on the planet, with species adapted to nearly every possible lifestyle and ecosystem. The most common estimate I've seen is that 80% of the individual animals on earth are nematodes, but I have no citation for this. There is a well known and evocative piece of writing (from 1915) about them by Nathan Cobb, nematologist:

"In short, if all the matter in the universe except the nematodes were swept away, our world would still be dimly recognizable, and if, as disembodied spirits, we could then investigate it, we should find its mountains, hills, vales, rivers, lakes, and oceans represented by a film of nematodes...The location of towns would be decipherable since, for every massing of human beings, there would be a corresponding massing of certain nematodes. Trees would still stand in ghostly rows representing our streets and highways. The location of the various plants and animals would still be decipherable, and, had we sufficient knowledge, in many cases even their species could be determined by an examination of their erstwhile nematode parasites."

A heartworm is a simple, tube-shaped creature. They have a mouth, a butthole, and a worm in between. They use their mouth to eat blood. The largest adult females are just under a foot long; the average male only half as long. They can sense temperature, pressure, vibration, osmolarity, the odor/taste of chemicals, and possibly infrared light, but they have no vision as we would understand it. Theirs is a warm, dark, wet world: the pulmonary arteries and heart of a dog. Heartworms parasitize canids of many types, wild and domestic.

Fig 1: Diagram of adult heartworms inhabiting a canine heart.

Female heartworms release pheromones to attract males, and they coil together during copulation. The females give live birth to microscopic baby worms called microfilariae, which circulate throughout their host's bloodstream. But these children cannot grow to maturity unless they leave home, and the way they do this is through a mosquito! When a tiny flying hemophage takes a blood meal from a heartworm infested dog, it inevitably ingests microfiliariae. The baby heartworms spend at least two weeks inside the mosquito and go through two larval developmental stages before exiting during another bite, into a new host. If this mosquito victim is not a dog, the juvenile worms may become hopelessly lost and wind up alone, unable to reproduce. If it is a dog, they then undertake a journey of 3-4 months (and 2 more larval developmental stages) before they finally mature into adults and make it to the large blood vessels which they will spend the rest of their lives.

Individual adult worms can live up to 7 years. An individual microfilaria can remain alive in a kind of suspended childhood, inside a mosquito, for up to 2 years. There is a daily fluctuation of the number of microfilarae present in peripheral blood samples taken from heartworm infested dogs. This varies by geographic region, and the jury is still out on why; do they move around the body in response to their host's circadian rhythm, or perhaps at the times when local mosquito species are most active? There is certainly a seasonal variation; more microfilariae circulate during the summer, when mosquito populations are high. Inside the warm, dark bodies of their hosts, the worms' behavior may be driven by the sun they never see.

Chronic inflammation and scarring of the pulmonary arteries, congestive heart failure, and acute collapse caused by blood vessel blockages are unfortunate side effects of heartworm infestation, which is why I know about them; I am a veterinary technician and my job is to kill them, to save the lives of dogs. They are, however, one of my favorite parasites. Fascinating creatures, with a unique evolutionary niche and a flair for the dramatic.

[mariacallous]

Parasites take an enormous toll on human and veterinary health. But researchers may have found a way for patients with brain disorders and a common brain parasite to become frenemies.

A new study published in Nature Microbiology has pioneered the use of a single-cell parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, to inject therapeutic proteins into brain cells. The brain is very picky about what it lets in, including many drugs, which limits treatment options for neurological conditions.

As a professor of microbiology, I’ve dedicated my career to finding ways to kill dangerous parasites such as Toxoplasma. I’m fascinated by the prospect that we may be able to use their weaponry to instead treat other maladies.

Microbes as Medicine

Ever since scientists realized that microscopic organisms can cause illness—what’s called the 19th-century germ theory of disease—humanity has been on a quest to keep infectious agents out of our bodies. Many people’s understandable aversion to germs may make the idea of adapting these microbial adversaries for therapeutic purposes seem counterintuitive.

But preventing and treating disease by co-opting the very microbes that threaten us has a history that long predates germ theory. As early as the 1500s, people in the Middle East and Asia noted that those lucky enough to survive smallpox never got infected again. These observations led to the practice of purposefully exposing an uninfected person to the material from an infected person’s pus-filled sores—which unbeknownst to them contained weakened smallpox virus—to protect them from severe disease.

This concept of inoculation has yielded a plethora of vaccines that have saved countless lives.

Viruses, bacteria, and parasites have also evolved many tricks to penetrate organs such as the brain and could be retooled to deliver drugs into the body. Such uses could include viruses for gene therapy and intestinal bacteria to treat a gut infection known as C. diff.

Why Can’t We Just Take a Pill for Brain Diseases?

Pills offer a convenient and effective way to get medicine into the body. Chemical drugs such as aspirin or penicillin are small and easily absorbed from the gut into the bloodstream.

Biologic drugs such as insulin or semaglutide, on the other hand, are large and complex molecules that are vulnerable to breaking down in the stomach before they can be absorbed. They are also too big to pass through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream.

All drugs, especially biologics, have great difficulty penetrating the brain due to the blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier is a layer of cells lining the brain’s blood vessels that acts like a gatekeeper to block germs and other unwanted substances from gaining access to neurons.

Toxoplasma Offers Delivery Service to Brain Cells

Toxoplasma parasites infect all animals, including humans. Infection can occur in multiple ways, including ingesting spores released in the stool of infected cats or consuming contaminated meat or water. Toxoplasmosis in otherwise healthy people produces only mild symptoms but can be serious in immunocompromised people and to gestating fetuses.

Unlike most pathogens, Toxoplasma can cross the blood-brain barrier and invade brain cells. Once inside neurons, the parasite releases a suite of proteins that alter gene expression in its host, which may be a factor in the behavioral changes it causes in infected animals and people.

In a new study, a global team of researchers hijacked the system Toxoplasma uses to secrete proteins into its host cell. The team genetically engineered Toxoplasma to make a hybrid protein, fusing one of its secreted proteins to a protein called MECP2, which regulates gene activity in the brain—in effect, giving the MECP2 a piggyback ride into neurons. Researchers found that the parasites secreted the MECP2 protein hybrid into neurons grown in a petri dish as well as in the brains of infected mice.

A genetic deficiency in MECP2 causes a rare brain development disorder called Rett syndrome. Gene therapy trials using viruses to deliver the MECP2 protein to treat Rett syndrome are underway. If Toxoplasma can deliver a form of MECP2 protein into brain cells, it may provide another option to treat this currently incurable condition. It also may offer another treatment option for other neurological problems that arise from errant proteins, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

The Long Road Ahead

The road from laboratory bench to bedside is long and filled with obstacles, so don’t expect to see engineered Toxoplasma in the clinic anytime soon.

The obvious complication in using Toxoplasma for medical purposes is that it can produce a serious, lifelong infection that is currently incurable. Infecting someone with Toxoplasma can damage critical organ systems, including the brain, eyes, and heart.

However, up to one-third of people worldwide currently carry Toxoplasma in their brain, apparently without incident. Emerging studies have correlated infection with increased risk of schizophrenia, rage disorder, and recklessness, hinting that this quiet infection may be predisposing some people to serious neurological problems.

The widespread prevalence of Toxoplasma infections may also be another complication, as it disqualifies many people from using it for treatment. Since the billions of people who already carry the parasite have developed immunity against future infection, therapeutic forms of Toxoplasma would be rapidly destroyed by their immune systems once injected.

In some cases, the benefits of using Toxoplasma as a drug delivery system may outweigh the risks. Engineering benign forms of this parasite could produce the proteins patients need without harming the organ—the brain—that defines who we are.

[lizziedoesvetpath]

Hello,

I’m a vet student entering into my second year and I’d be lying if I said I haven’t considered leaving vet med for human med since I’ve discovered clinical practice isn’t for me. I’m becoming increasingly interested in pathology and I love the thought of performing necropsy often in my daily life. However, I’m starting to wonder if veterinary pathology is worth the large pay cut compared to human pathology. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic as I’d appreciate any advice!

Hi there!

There are several layers to this question and I'm going to do my best to address them all, so bear with.

The first factor you're considering here is clinical practice vs pathology. I also realized part way through vet school that I didn't see clinical practice as a good fit for me. That's what I had gone into vet school planning to do, but as the years went by I eventually came to the conclusion that the pace, the day to day tasks, and the overall feel of a clinical practice job didn't suit me. Luckily, I also found pathology during that process. I love histopathology and working at the microscope, I enjoy necropsy and interpreting lesions, and I like the pace of working in pathology. It suits me much better. It sounds like you've already got a feel for that difference, and that's great! If you haven't yet, I would highly recommend looking into this further by reaching out to some veterinary pathologists to talk about what their day to day looks like (make sure it lines up with what you have in your head) and, if that all sounds interesting to you, what steps you need to take during and after vet school to head down that path. The pathologists at your vet school are a great place to start. Other resources that may benefit you are the Davis-Thompson Foundation (veterinary pathology education charity who do lots of seminars and I believe offer a scholarship to support veterinary students doing pathology externships); the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP); and the Society for Toxicologic Pathologists (STP). The ACVP and STP both hold yearly conferences which are discounted for vet students (and have scholarships) and are another great way to meet pathologists and see what we're up to! (I'll link these organisations at the bottom of this post). The ACVP also has a job board where you can see what options are currently being advertised (although this is not an exhaustive list). There are a lot of different ways to be a veterinary pathologist, including positions in academia, research (I know several veterinary pathologists doing research for the USDA), industry/toxicologic pathology (medical device development, pharma, etc.), zoo and wildlife pathology, aquatic pathology, commercial diagnostics (e.g. IDEXX), and many more.

Next, what may be the biggest question here, should you do human med or vet med? Nobody else can answer this question for you, but I'll try to provide some thinking points to help you figure it out. Firstly, while there are similarities, it's worth noting that the two aren't identical fields just with different species. What kinds of cases you see, how residency and senior positions work, what your day to day looks like; all of these differ somewhat between the two professions. I've never worked in human med, but there are some great pathology residents sharing their experiences online if you want some insight. Think about what you're comfortable with too - I find lesions on people gross, but lesions on animals fascinating. In vet path we also get to work on a huge range of species! Just during my residency so far I've worked on everything from coral, insects, and fish, to bears, elk, and cougars. This inherent comparative nature of vet path is, I think, unique to our field. Or maybe the increased access to specific diagnostic tools and broader testing capabilities of human path appeals to you more. Again, you may want to reach out to people working in human pathology to learn more about what they actually do.

Importantly, you already chose vet school over med school at some point. What was your reasoning? Do those reasons still hold if you don't want to work in clinical practice? You're already in vet school, is the appeal of human pathology worth starting over in med school? Only you can answer those questions.

Finally, the "pay cut". You're not wrong that, as a general rule, you will be paid less to work in vet med than in human med. Despite being equally highly educated, trained, and skilled, that's a given and something we all have to reckon with when deciding which field is for us. But it's also worth noting that there are ways you can work in vet med and still be well paid. And there are a lot of different ways to be a pathologist. For example, the ACVP 2017 Salary Survey reported that the median salary for veterinary pathologists in industry, with 0-2 years post training experience, was between $140,000 USD and $199,999 USD (depending on location). Highly paid and more experienced industry pathologists reported salaries over $280,000 (these numbers are due to be updated soon). Now, depending on your lifestyle, obligations, debts, location etc. what you consider "high paying" or "adequate" is going to differ, so I can't tell you that any of those numbers is "enough". But I would factor into your decision what kind of pay you think you need and want, and how highly "paid well" ranks in what is specifically important to you in picking a career.

Ultimately, while I think the gap should be smaller, I don't see working in vet med instead of human med as taking a "pay cut" because we're not doing the same job, and because vet med is the right place for me. But that is based on how I rank my priorities, and you're in no way wrong if you feel differently.

I hope this helps, and let me know if you have more questions!

Links ACVP: https://www.acvp.org/ STP: https://www.toxpath.org/ Davis-Thompson Foundation: https://davisthompsonfoundation.org/

[justagirlthatlovedtoread]

For the both of us

I always knew I wanted a dog.

I knew that when the time came,

you’d be my best friend.

But I never knew

just how much you would change my world.

You lit it up,

brighter than I ever thought possible.

Made the hard days easier,

the lonely days bearable,

the good days unforgettable.

But it wasn’t just the good times.

It was the way you carried me through the bad ones.

heading straight for the beach.

When stress wrapped around my chest,

when the weight of the world felt too much,

you were there.

You didn’t need to do anything-

just existing beside me was enough.

The warmth of your fur calmed my nerves,

your steady breathing quietened my mind.

You took it all away.

Every time.

Without fail.

You made me brave.

More confident.

I could talk to people,

step outside my comfort zone,

do things I never thought I could-

because you were there.

Because you made me feel safe.

You are the reason I started this journey,

the reason I'm training to be a veterinary nurse.

And when I struggled,

when I fell behind,

you helped me find my way.

You let me practice on you—

ear bandages,

microscopic examinations,

x-ray positions,

anal glands,

wound management,

ear cleaning...

the lot.

Not just me, but others too.

You were the perfect patient,

the best boy,

always eager to help.

And you did help.

I passed the second part of my course,

just weeks after you left.

And it broke me.

Because you should have been there,

to see me finish what you helped me start.

I should have come home that day,

smiling, relieved, proud-

and you should have been there,

wagging your tail,

jumping up at me like you always did,

as if you knew exactly what it meant.

I should have held your face in my hands,

looked into your bright, knowing eyes,

and said, “We did it, Dex. We made it.”

Because it was never just me.

It was always us.

But instead, I came home to silence.

No paws scrambling on the floor,

no excited barks,

no warm weight pressing against me,

telling me that everything was okay.

Just the heavy, crushing quiet.

I sat down,

And held the success in my hands,

but it felt meaningless without you there.

Because every step I took,

every long night spent studying,

every moment I doubted myself-

you were the reason I kept going.

And now, here I was,

finally nearing the finish line,

but without you beside me,

it doesn't feel like a victory.

It feels like a loss all over again.

I wanted to tell you,

to show you,

to thank you.

But you weren’t there.

And that’s when it hit me-

not just in my mind,

but deep in my chest,

in a way that stole the breath from my lungs.

You were really gone.

And nothing,

not this achievement,

not this moment,

not anything,

could fill the space you left behind.

Now that you're gone,

I'm failing again.

I’m failing my assignments.

and im feeling so stressed,

like the weight of everything is too much,

and I can’t keep up,

like I’m drowning in deadlines,

in pressure, in doubt.

I want to quit.

I want to walk away,

just leave it all behind

because it’s easier than facing the next failure,

easier than feeling like I’m never enough.

But I know I can't.

Because I can’t forget how far I’ve come,

how much I’ve worked for this,

how much you’ve helped me get here.

I wouldn’t have made it this far without you.

You were there every step of the way,

through every sleepless night,

through every moment I wanted to give up,

through every failure I was sure would be my last.

And now, even in my darkest moments,

I know this path is yours as much as it is mine.

Because it was never just my journey-

it was ours.

And that’s beautiful.

It’s beautiful because you taught me to keep going,

even when it felt impossible.

You showed me what it means to fight for something,

to believe in myself,

to be braver than I ever thought I could be.

So even now, when I want to quit,

when everything feels too hard,

I’ll remember you.

I’ll remember us.

And that’s why I won’t give up-

because this journey is for both of us.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

It seems like every other week there’s a new acronym to get our heads around.

But whilst some come and go, ‘STEM’ seems to be the mother of all acronyms, that has become a household name.

Science, technology, engineering, maths – aka “STEM”.

These are the (few remaining) subjects where women are underrepresented in education.

It is an acronym that has given us wonderfully cliche images of young women in white coats high fiving, or others peering into microscopes with a big smiles and thumbs up.

But whilst the artwork is humorous, the numbers don’t quite add up.

As what people don’t know about ‘STEM’, is that it is just yet another politically motivated term, that has manipulated the data to give us misleading perspectives.

Because actually 54% of STEM students are women, not 35%.

And we can only arrive at 35% by ignoring the many, many, sciences where women continue to dominate.

Biology, psychology, neuroscience, medicine, veterinary science…

These are all sciences… all areas where women dominate… and none of them are considered STEM subjects.

Yes. Biology. Not a science. Somehow.

Meanwhile the crisis of men and boys falling behind and dropping out of education remains ignored.

Yup, the crisis of educational attainment continues to look in the wrong direction.

So what is to be said about STEM?

And can we drop the acronyms and political neologisms, and look at the whole picture?

--

Sources:

HESA Data https://www.hesa.ac.uk/news/19-01-2023/sb265-higher-education-student-statistics/subjects

Definition of Stem https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201213/ldselect/ldsctech/37/37.pdf#page=10

[vacantgodling]

oc smash or pass

gotta do the other half LOL

Rules: pretty self explanatory. include physical descriptions or pics, and propaganda. the “other” label can be used for “sexuality misalignment” (ie: oc is femme and you’re gay, vice versa or you aren’t into smashing but a specific thing you wanna do with them like perhaps hug or study them under a microscope idc)

open tag as usual, just have fun with it 🤌🏾

(commissed art from an old friend on twitter back in the day 😅)

ACTUAL GOOD PROPOGANDA LEGGO:

PROS:

loves animals! he used to be in veterinary school before he decided to join the band and has 3 dogs back home

gay and plays the rhythm guitar in his band! good with his fingers 🤌🏾

extremely empathetic and a bit virginal and shy. however, if you get him warmed up he’s quite 👀 eager!

packin’ (sorry not sorry), hairy and scarred so do with that what you will

wears glasses!!!! megane!!!!!!

likes when people wear his clothes and is really good at giving hugs

is so romantic actually even without meaning to. when he falls in love, he falls HARD. will absolutely be the sweetest most protective and caring bf ever. like, actually a teddy bear.

CONS:

extremely conservative religious upbringing and he has ✨deep religious guilt and trauma✨ that makes him terrified to go against his parents wishes beyond what he’s already doing

extremely in the closet because of this But when he’s not dealing with his parents potentially finding out he has no shame :)

was a camp counselor 💀

vegetarian because he loves animals too much— which is fine, but the only reason he’s not pescatarian specifically is because he’s scared of fish, which is really fucking funny to me.

lightweight despite his size and Not Good with crowds

is way too soft to be in a metal band tbh but to be fair to him (1) LR didn’t start as a metal band when his ex was the lead singer (2) he grows a backbone is apart of character development lmao

[northwestofinsanity]

Band Incorrect Quote/Scenario -“I Love My Job…” (Hospital AU)

Well, with an incorrect-quote-worthy event at work, here’s another cursed extended band incorrect scenario in the cursed veterinary hospital AU with Styx and Squeeze… This time, rather than the mixed bunch in “Frencho Fryo Time”, or Squeeze by themselves as with the Daylight Savings time, this one features Styx by themselves, and the situation brings out their dramatic dynamic!

-It’s 10:00 AM, and a drug label has come back from reception to the pharmacy lab for the assistant team to refill a patient’s script of liquid furosemide*-

[*This is a diuretic medication, often used to prevent or remove fluid buildup around the heart and lungs (effusion), most commonly for patients in later stage heart disease]

Tommy Shaw: *Sees the label* “Is this a compound? There’s no recipe label printed.”

JY: “No, if you go in the cabinet above Dr. R’s desk, that one is pre-made in a solution, because it’s really unstable if we compound it in-house. All you have to do is just get a syringe and pull out however many cc’s the label says it’s for.”

Tommy Shaw: *Goes and looks in the cabinet* “JY, I can’t find it!”

JY: *Comes in, and finds the two boxes of it, unopened, but on the top shelf, and turned around so the labels face the back of the cabinet, unfortunately positioned in a way that set Tommy up for failure finding it* “There it is.” *Pulls one box down, and flips the other around.*

Tommy Shaw: “Really? Up there, turned around?”

JY: “I don’t know who put it away like that. It’s not supposed to be put away like that. Anyway, do you still want to fill it, or do you want me to fill it?”

Tommy Shaw: “I’ve never filled that one, but it seems easy enough, so I probably should.”

JY: “Okay. It’s not really any different than if you were doing the Cisapride solution.”

Tommy Shaw: *Perks up* “Oh, okay! Yeah, I can do that!”

JY: *Has an odd feeling that something is going to go wrong, despite the fact that Tommy has filled quite a few scripts before and that he usually has faith in Tommy to do things right, so he stays in the pharmacy hall in hopes he can be there to prevent whatever is about to go wrong*

-Less than two minutes later- Tommy Shaw: *Has gotten the compounding bottle and syringe adapter tops at the ready, and is in the process of pulling the correct amount out of the stock bottle. As he is, he’s to get the syringe plunger to pull back due to the viscous nature of the furosemide solution.  On autopilot, he disconnects the syringe and pulls some air into it, then puts it into the adapter top to create some extra air in the bottle to keep the plastic walls from getting sucked inward as the solution is pulled out, but forgets in his auto-pilot mode that he has a rather large, 25cc syringe, rather than a tiny 3 or 1cc syringe, thus, having the plunger pulled nearly halfway back with air is a lot more than usual.  He starts to push the air into the bottle*

JY: *Does a double take, realizing after 5 cc’s what Tommy is unknowingly doing, and can see the sides of the bottle starting to bow outward* “Oh, don’t do that-!”

-Instantly, before anyone can even respond to JY’s warning, the air pressure in the bottle pushes the syringe adapter top out of the bottle neck and causes the solution to spray out of the bottle, across Tommy’s chest and arms, in his face, and all over the countertop and everything on it.  It’s on the wall between the counter and the overhead cabinets, on the cabinet doors, and all over the lab sample tubes in the basket on the counter, as well as in the open box of microscope slides, and soaked into the towel that various bottles of cleaner and lab solvents sit on to protect the counter top from any leaks-

Dennis, John, and Chuck: *All gasp super loud*

Tommy Shaw: *Freezes with a look on his face of being a hundred percent done with everything as he sets the bottle down, which now only has about a quarter of the medication volume left in it, and wipes the droplets that are dangerously close to his eyes*

Dennis DeYoung: *Looks like he’s about to say something, or rather, shout something at Tommy*

JY: *Puts his hands up and very sternly shakes his head at Dennis, then turns and gives John and Chuck a similar warning look* “Don’t say anything...”

Tommy Shaw: *Inhales deeply with a wheeze and lets out a groaning sigh*

John Panozzo: *Walks out of the pharmacy hallway, because he’s trying hard not to laugh and knows he’s going to lose the battle*

Tommy Shaw: “I… don’t even know what I expected would happen when I did that… I don’t know why I did that… or what I was even thinking.” *Sighs again, setting the syringe and bottle down on the counter, and puts his hands down at his sides in defeat*

JY: *Grabbing some hand towels and rags out of the closet in the hallway* “Okay… it’s alright… we’ve got the other bottle.  We’ll just clean all this up, use what we’ve got left in this one before opening the other, and we’ll let Alan Gratzer know that one of the bottles spilled and we’re on our last one.  He doesn’t even have to know how it happened.”

Dennis DeYoung: *Eyes wide* “What do you mean he doesn’t-!?”

JY: *Trying so hard not to sigh in a way that sounds annoyed as he is* “Tommy, if you don’t have a spare shirt in your car, there’s that whole bin of spares in the bathroom.  Please go wash that off and get changed, and we can make sure that goes in the next load of laundry.”

Tommy Shaw: *Looks alarmed* “Is this one of those drugs that are bad if you touch it?”

JY: “No, it doesn’t have effects on skin contact -and even if it did, it would only be an issue if you have blood pressure trouble.  But you don’t need to be walking around covered in it.”  *Waits until Tommy goes off before turning to Dennis* “I just said, it is NOT that big a deal, and Alan has WAY too much to do with tracking inventory -as long as nobody is stealing or consuming the drugs, he DOES NOT CARE how it happened.  He just needs to know that we made a mistake, some was lost, and we need to order more.  End of story!”

Chuck Panozzo: *Looks between both of them* “BYE.”  *Walks off, and with the power of suggestion, goes back to the laundry room to see where the cycle is at and if he can make sure Tommy’s scrub top gets in the next load*

Dennis DeYoung: “Fine, then.”  *Walks away toward treatment*

JY: *Groans to self as he sprays and wipes off the main part of the counter, then goes to get the other bottle of that particular medication solution so that he can fill the script and have that part over with before dealing with the more details areas that got splashed, deciding in his head that he’ll leave most of it for Tommy to clean when he gets back, but will deal with the tedious process of washing all the microscope slides and drying them so they don’t have water stains or streaks* “Ohh, I love my job, I love my job, I love my job… I do love my job. And my coworkers…”

[siberianstudent]

Study in Siberia

I enrolled the Agrarian University at the faculty Veterinary Medicine this year. I was preparing to study to be an animator artist, but I decided to be a veterinarian in the last moment, lol.

Seriously, I used to draw a lot. I even sold my drawings at one time.

You can enroll the university in Russia if you passed the Unified State Exam. You just choose exams which you need for admission to University. Exams are special for each University.

The sum of the exam scores is magical number. It opens the universities doors. The higher the number of points, the higher the chance that the state will pay for your education. I passed the exams well and I am learning on a budget basis :)

I was very happy when I found out that I had entered the university. It was very important to me.

To go to the university, I get up at 7 o'clock in the morning. At 7:20, I have to leave the house and take the bus. I have a long way to go - the journey takes about an hour and a half. Classes start at 9 a.m.

All normal people are still sleeping while I'm waiting for the bus. The sun rises late, so the lanterns are still on.

What are veterinarians studying? We have regular subjects and specialized subjects. The main subjects are anatomy, chemistry (organic, inorganic, physico-colloidal), histology, embryology and much more. We are working with cadaveric material and microscopes, trying to better understand the structure of organisms.

Anatomy is one of my favorite subjects. I like to learn Latin names and the location of organs and bones. And the bones smell of fat :)

There are also common subjects. These are mathematical analysis (a terrible thing, I don't like it x)), computer science, history and English. They have fewer training hours, but no less problems with them (I'm trying to play puns).

This photo was taken by a student from my course. These are rabbit tongue cells under a microscope. It looks like mountains.

There are many academic buildings, and sometimes classes are held in different buildings. Therefore, during the break, you need to have time to run from one audience to another. Along the way, you can admire the animals that live on campus :)

It's a draft horse. She lives on an experimental farm and carries cargo (it makes sense, doesn't it?)

In the following posts, I will tell you more about my classes. If you are interested in any question, ask it in the comments or messages, I will answer or even write a post about it. See you soon, friends!

And now I'm waiting for the bus home. No, I don't study in the field, just a bus stop on the very edge of the city. It's funny, but my friend, after I showed him this photo, gave me a survival kit...

[riflebrass]

And we have our infirmary. I hit up a second pharmacy on my looting run then like a block away I found a veterinary clinic. I wasn't able to get the hospital bed I wanted but the dental chair is close enough if not better. I got my IV stand, surgical tool tray, some doctor's degrees that are totally bogus because my first aid skills are still level 1 but I'm the best doctor I'm gonna come across lol. Even picked up a scale and a computer just because. The pharmacy and vet clinics both had microscopes I wanted to swipe but there's no way to pick it up.

There's one more bedroom upstairs that's not being utilized as well as a little home office downstairs. Not really sure what to do with either of them. I could make one into an armory but I'm not really sure how much I'm going to stock it. I've got a weapon locker in the garage that has all my guns, mags, and ammo.