Introduction
Saunders Solutions in Veterinary Practice series is a new range of veterinary text books covering all the main disciplines of companion animal practice.
Readers should realise that it is not the authors’ intention to cover all that is known about each topic.
As such the books in the Solutions series are not standard reference works. Instead they are intended to provide practical information on the more frequently encountered conditions in an easily accessible form based on real life case studies. They cover that range of cases that fall between the boringly routine and the referral. The books will help practitioners with a particular interest in a topic or those preparing for a specialist qualification. The cases are arranged by presenting sign rather than by the underlying pathology as this is how veterinary surgeons will see them in practice.Each case also includes descriptions of underlying pathology and details of the nursing required both in the veterinary clinic and at home. It is hoped that the books will also, therefore, be of interest to veterinary students in the later parts of their course and to veterinary nurses.
Continuing professional development (CPD) is mandatory for many veterinarians and a recommended practice for others. The Solutions series will provide a CPD resource which can be accessed economically, shared with colleagues and used anywhere. They will also provide busy veterinary practitioners with quick access to authoritative information on the diagnosis and treatment of interesting and challenging cases. The robust cover has been made resistant to some of the more gruesome contaminants found in a veterinary clinic because this is where we hope these books will be used
Joyce Rodenhuis and Mary seager were the inspiration for the series and both the series editor and the individual authors are grateful for their foresight in commissioning the series and their unfailing support and guidance during their production.
Gastroenterology
Gastroenterological disorders can be nearly as distressing for an owner as for the animal suffering the disease. Although straightforward cases may recover quickly with simple management changes, the range of GI cases includes patients whose signs may persist for months or even years and the cause of which may be devilishly hard to elucidate. That range also includes diseases which can be terminal and disease which can be fatal remarkably quickly. This book should help you navigate your way through the sometimes bewildering array of tests for gastrointestinal disorders, understand the sometimes complex ae- tiopathogenesis and earn the significant gratitude of those owners who no longer have to clear up diarrhoea or vomit from their living room carpet.