GLOSSARY
Not sure what all this veterinary terminology means?
Here is your quick guide to understanding all the veterinary jargon used in veterinary medicine and physiotherapy.
A
- Acute – abrupt onset of an illness. Can also be used to describe the tissue state in wound healing normally referring to the first stages
- Anatomy – the study of structures of the body
- Atrophy – organ or body tissue loss/wastage
B
C
- Chronic – an illness which is either persisting for a long time or consistently reoccurring. Can also be used to describe a tissue state in wound healing.
- CrCL – cranial cruciate ligament rupture. This is one of the two ligaments found within the stifle (knee) joint
D
- Degenerative joint disease (DJD) – see osteoarthritis
- Dys – difficulty e.g. dysponea = difficulty breathing
E
F
G
H
- Hyper – increased e.g. hypertrophy = increased cell size
- Hypo – decreases e.g. hypotrophy = decreased growth of cells
I
- Idiopathic – unknown cause of a disease
- IVDD – Intervertebral Disk Disease
J
K
L
M
N
O
- Osteoarthritis (OA) – a common type of chronic joint disease where uneven joint wear has caused the breakdown of joint cartilage and exposed the underlying bone. The two bony surfaces rub against each other causing pain and inflammation to local tissues.
P
- Physiology – the study of the way body parts function.
Q
R
S
T
- TPLO – tibial plateau leveling osteotomy. A surgical technique used to stabilise the stifle (knee) joint following rupture of the CrCL.
- TTA – tibial tuberosity advancement. A surgical technique used to stabilise the stifle (knee) joint following rupture of the CrCL.
U
V
- Vertebrae – the individual bones which make up the spinal column. In the dog there are 7 cervical, 13 thoracic, 7 lumbar and 3 sacral vertebrae. There are also coccygeal vertebrae but this number is dependent on the dog, the average is 20 but there may be more or less.
W
X
Y
Z
Comment below if there are any words you have come across at the vets or with your vet physio and I can add this to the list.
