Vet Bioscience: Locomotion

This subject continues the integrated and inter-disciplinary approach to the study of body system function and dysfunction in animals that was introduced in year one of the DVM course. Building on students’ prior knowledge of body system function and dysfunction and their experience of scientific and clinical reasoning, this subject introduces students to the structure and normal functioning of those body systems that contribute to locomotion. Dysfunction and the consequences of dysfunction will also be explored. Studies will encompass the structure and function of the musculoskeletal system and those elements of the integumentary system that contribute to locomotion. The development and organisation of the nervous system will be introduced in this unit, and the focus will then turn to those elements of the spinal cord and peripheral nervous system essential for locomotory control. Students will be introduced to the clinical disciplines of gait analysis and lameness assessment, orthopaedics, diagnostic imaging and anatomic pathology as they relate to these systems. Using case-based teaching approaches, they will apply their understanding of system structure, function and dysfunction to authentic situations that enhance the development of integrative clinical reasoning abilities.