Veterinary Vertex

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Guinea pigs don’t read the dog-and-cat neurology textbook and that’s exactly where clinicians get into trouble. We sit down with Dr. Vishal Murthy to unpack what a truly species-specific neurologic examination looks like for guinea pigs, why so many “standard” tests can be misleading, and how prey-species stress can flatten reflexes and hide both normal function and real disease. If you’ve ever felt unsure interpreting postural reactions or reflex testing in small mammals, this conversation gives you a clearer baseline for what normal actually is. 

We dig into the practical realities that make exotic pet neurology hard in the exam room: freezing, shutdown behaviors, and the ways restraint and stress can change responses. Vishal shares the most surprising findings from their work, including why a gag reflex attempt can quickly become a chewing response, and what that means for brain and spinal cord lesion localization. We also talk about differences between client-owned and research guinea pigs, and why handling style may explain pelvic limb tactile placing changes. 

To make this useful at 2 a.m. in ER as well as in specialty practice, we walk through a guinea pig specific checklist designed to emphasize feasible, more reliable exam elements and reduce unnecessary handling. The goal is better diagnostic accuracy, faster decision-making, and improved welfare for a prey species that experiences exams differently than cats and dogs. Subscribe for more veterinary neurology conversations, share this with your zoological companion animal colleagues, and leave a rating and review wherever you listen.
JAVMA article: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.25.12.0823
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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) can feel like an abstract, far-away crisis until you realize how easily it travels through connected systems and how quietly it can persist when we only watch the “end product.” We talk with Dr. Pankaj Gaonkar about antimicrobial resistance in the U.S. poultry industry, starting with a clear definition of AMR and why it is a pressing global health and economic threat. From there, we dig into the uncomfortable reality that resistance can still be detected even as antimicrobial use declines, and why that “disconnect” matters for veterinarians, producers, and anyone who cares about food systems.

A big theme is scale and structure. Modern poultry production is often vertically integrated, moving birds through a coordinated chain from breeder farms and hatcheries to broiler grow-out and processing. That efficiency has a downside: if antimicrobial resistant bacteria emerge at one point, they can move through the system. We also unpack how disease pressure in high-density environments can influence therapeutic decisions, and how older antimicrobial exposure can leave behind residues and resistant organisms that continue to shape selection pressure over time.

The heart of our conversation is environmental surveillance and the One Health approach. Monitoring litter, soil, water, and air around poultry houses helps reveal where resistance is maintained and how it moves between “inside” and “outside” the farm. Pankaj explains key tools like metagenomics, qPCR, and culture-based methods, along with the real challenges around cost, standardization, and interpreting results in complex microbial communities. We close with practical roles for veterinarians and producers, and what smarter policy could look like to strengthen AMR monitoring without creating unnecessary burden.

If you found this valuable, subscribe for more Veterinary Vertex conversations, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.
JAVMA article: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.25.07.0488
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A citation can be polished, specific, and completely fake and that’s the scary part. We sit down with Morna Conway, PhD, Scholarly Journal Consultant and JAVMA and AJVR Copy Editor Vic Schultz to unpack how generative AI tools like ChatGPT can hallucinate references, remixing real author names, familiar journal titles, and plausible article wording into sources that simply do not exist. If you write, review, edit, or read scientific articles in veterinary medicine, this conversation is a practical guide to protecting research integrity in the age of AI-assisted writing.

We walk through how these fabricated citations get discovered, from peer reviewers who know the field well enough to spot a suspicious claim to copy editors who notice missing DOIs, dead Crossref links, absent PMIDs, or volume and page details that don’t add up. Dr. Lisa Fortier shares how editorial workflows shape when problems are caught and why JAVMA and AJVR take a hard line: if hallucinated references are found, the editorial team can reject the manuscript even after acceptance because accuracy is non-negotiable for credible scientific publishing.

We also get specific about responsible AI use in scientific writing: disclose how you used AI, describe the workflow, and personally verify every output before submission. The best advice sounds old-school because it works: proofread, slow down, and click every DOI. If you found this helpful, subscribe, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a rating and review to help more researchers find it.
JAVMA editorial: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.264.4.382
Scientific Reports article: Fabrication and errors in the bibliographic citations generated by ChatGPT | Scientific Reports
INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO JAVMA ®  OR AJVR ® ?
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A splenic mass is one of those findings that can flip a normal day into a crisis. You may have an older Labrador or Golden Retriever, an ultrasound that shows a splenic tumor, and an owner asking the question you cannot fully answer yet: “Is it cancer?” We sit down with Dr. Janet Grimes to unpack why that gap between suspicion and certainty is so hard in canine medicine and why better preoperative diagnostics for splenic masses could change everything from emergency decisions to long-term screening.

We walk through what veterinarians currently juggle when counseling clients, including the role of hemoabdomen, the wide spread in prognosis between benign lesions and canine hemangiosarcoma, and how rules of thumb like the double two-thirds rule fit (or do not fit) in different clinical scenarios. Then we zoom in on the science of microRNAs: tiny non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression and can be detected in circulation, making them promising minimally invasive biomarkers for veterinary oncology.

Dr. Grimes explains how a multi-marker microRNA panel is built from blood samples and measured with quantitative RT-PCR, why panels can be more specific than single markers, and what it could look like to use this as a send-out test today with the longer-term goal of a cage-side diagnostic. We also discuss the real-world barriers: differentiating hemangiosarcoma from other splenic malignancies, avoiding misleading results in sick dogs, and integrating any new test as an adjunct to physical exam, imaging, and standard lab work.

If you care about earlier cancer detection in dogs, smarter decision-making around splenectomy, and the future of blood-based cancer diagnostics, listen through to the end and share this with a colleague. Subscribe, leave a rating and review, and tell us what question you most want a pre-op splenic mass test to answer.
AJVR articles: https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.25.07.0258 and https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.25.07.0250
INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO JAVMA ®  OR AJVR ® ?
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AJVR ® : 
Facebook: American Journal of Veterinary Research - AJVR | Facebook
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Cloudy eyes in a kitten can be a warning sign for feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). What happens when the eyes look like FIP and then… the kitten gets better? That clinical tension sits at the heart of our conversation with Hikaru Shiraishi and Drs. Karen Vernau and David Maggs. Their JAVMA article describes “undifferentiated resolving uveitis” in young cats, a syndrome that can mimic FIP associated uveitis at first glance yet improves with symptomatic treatment and careful follow up.

We walk through what uveitis actually is, why it matters so much in kittens, and how a set of real hospital cases pushed the team to look back systematically. You’ll hear how terminology changed the thinking: “idiopathic” implies an exhaustive workup, while “undifferentiated” reflects what clinicians often face in rescue, shelter, and budget limited situations. We also dig into the practical details that can help on the clinic floor, including which ophthalmic signs overlapped between groups and which findings leaned more toward FIP, such as fundic abnormalities and rubeosis iridis.

We also address the realities that make this topic so high stakes: the limits of coronavirus serology, the role of clinical pathology like globulins and bilirubin, and the weight of decisions that can lead to expensive antivirals or even euthanasia. Our biggest takeaway is a clinical mindset shift: FIP diagnosis is a weighted balance of evidence, and a thorough fundic exam plus a willingness to reassess over time can keep you from making a knee jerk call when a kitten might simply need a chance.

If you found this helpful, subscribe for more author behind the scenes conversations, share the episode with a colleague who sees urgent eye cases, and leave us a rating and review. What’s the hardest part of getting a good fundic exam in your practice?
JAVMA article: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.25.07.0469
INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO JAVMA ®  OR AJVR ® ?
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AJVR ® : 
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Twitter: AJVR (@AJVROA) / Twitter

JAVMA ®  and AJVR ®  LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/avma-journals