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Zoo InternQuest is a seven-week career exploration program for San Diego County high school juniors and seniors. Students have the unique opportunity to meet professionals working for the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research, learn about their jobs, and then blog about their experience online. Follow their adventures here on the Zoo’s website!
Today we met with Dr. Meg Sutherland-Smith, who is the Director of Veterinary Services at the San Diego Zoo’s Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Sutherland-Smith shared the path an animal takes during a veterinary check-up and the plethora of advanced technology used along the way.
Our first stop of Dr. Sutherland-Smith’s presentation was in the main room of the hospital, which included different tools and devices veterinarians use to help animals during check-ups. One device veterinarians use to safely administer anesthesia or medication is called a squeeze crate. Animals are trained to become comfortable stepping into the crates. Once the animal is in the crate, the back panel will slowly move forward, encouraging animals to naturally move forward, allowing veterinarians to safely administer the anesthesia or medication.
If an animal can’t be given anesthesia or medications safely by hand, vets can use air charged darts. Air pressure is what helps inject medication into an animal's body. The dart is made up of three distinct parts, the flight, enabling darts to fly aerodynamically, a plastic capsule, holding the medication, and a needle, which has holes on the side to administer the medicine. There are a different sized darts in order to accommodate the different types of animals at the Zoo that need anesthesia or medications.
Once an animal is given an anesthesia injection, an anesthesia mask, connected to an anesthetic machine, is comfortably placed onto an animal’s nose and mouth to send gas anesthetics to the animal as it breathes. Anesthesia ensures that the animal will not wake up during the procedure. Mask sizes vary to compensate for the different animals, for example a primate needs the larger mask while a falcon would need the smaller mask.
When an animal is undergoing anesthesia, it is important to monitor the animal’s vitals. Pulse oximeters are important tools used to check vitals during procedures. Dr. Sutherland-Smith showed us how a pulse oximeter will measure the amount of oxygen an animal’s blood and an animal’s heart rate. A small clamp placed on different parts of an animal’s body, such as an ear, finger, or lip, can record data by emitting harmless ultraviolet light to record data from hemoglobin in the body.
In the surgical suite, Dr. Sutherland-Smith makes use of a computerized tomography (CT) scan, which takes radiographs in order to take a look inside of an animal’s body. Radiographs are images produced on a sensitive plate by x-rays. When an animal needs a CT scan machine, a veterinarian will place the animal on a padded table in a variety of different positions to get a well-rounded image of an animal’s body.
Veterinarians analyze radiographs to see if an animal has internal problems. In order to highlight bodily structures and tissues, an animal ingests contrast to enhance the images. For example, this chameleon ingested contrast before the radiograph in order for veterinarians to see if there is anything lodged in the chameleon’s digestive tract.
Unfortunately, animals can injure themselves, and need assistance from the veterinarians. This hyena had a chipped tooth, and in order to fix this problem, veterinarians and dentists went in to give the hyena a root canal. This procedure ended up going smoothly, and this radiograph shows the healed tooth. Now, this hyena can go back to enjoying its meals!
Radiographs can help veterinarians diagnose different diseases. For example, hornbills commonly acquire cancer tumors in their horn, the top portion of their head. Luckily, this hornbill was going in for a check-up and this radiograph shows that there are no abnormal growths present, hooray!
Dr. Sutherland-Smith reveals an exciting radiograph taken of a pregnant guenon, a species of monkey found in Africa. Ultrasounds and radiographs enable veterinarians to monitor babies in the womb to ensure healthy development.
Just like us, animals can also have heart problems. This is a radiograph of a Tasmanian devil that needed a pacemaker. Dr. Sutherland-Smith is grateful to have access to technology, which may not be readily available in other parts of the world, in order to help save animals at the Zoo.
Continuing into the library, Dr. Sutherland-Smith introduced us to Dr. Ben Nevitt, another veterinarian, who helped us analyze radiographs on the big screen. Specialized computer technology can create realistic, three-dimensional models from the two-dimensional radiographs. This is a three-dimensional model derived from a CT image of a turtle at the San Diego Zoo. In this cross section, Dr. Nevitt shows the inside of a turtle’s front left leg. Modern technology allows the veterinarian team to explain to the animal care team procedures and problems animals are encountering.
With numerous technological advancements, Dr. Sutherland-Smith’s presentation showed us how veterinarians are equipped to save animal lives and ensure the prosperity of all animals.
Maranda, Photo Journalist Team
Week Two, Winter Session 2019
