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The Elements of a Veterinary Diagnosis
Each time a veterinarian sees a patient, we go through the same
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nalment”. This means the species, breed, age and sex of the pet. We
combine the signalment with a history.
The information in the history, from both the past veterinary record
and from the client, helps us understand why the patient is being
presented, and what we know about the patient’s past and present
health and behavior to help us in our assessment.
The physical exam can be an invaluable element in our process. As
veterinarians, we must allow our patients to speak through the history
and physical exam. Observation and touching the pet is part of
a physical exam. We use our sense of smell, hearing, and sight along
with touch in our examination. We may use equipment to look in the
eyes, ears, or mouth and listen to the chest.
The veterinarian will then use a combination of their personal opinion
of what they have found and the facts of what they have found, to
form an assessment of what needs to be done and a plan on how to
proceed.
If the assessment has a diagnosis, the plan can be a treatment. For
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If the assessment is not a diagnosis, it may have a list of possible
problems that could be causing the patient’s symptoms. So the plan
may include diagnostics such as blood work or radiographs to give us
vital information.
We use all these elements: signalment, history, physical exam,
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ANIMAL HOSPITALS
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assessment, and diagnostics like
the pieces of a puzzle to form a
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diagnoses are like doing a puzzle
from the backside with a lot of
pieces missing.
As a client, sharing your observations
of your pet such as eating
and drinking, activity and toileting
behaviors can be an integral
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Cate Drost, DVM
Gahanna Animal Hospital
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