Course

Veterinary Anesthesia

Faculty
Science & Technology
Department
Animal Health Technology
Course Code
AHTT 2108
Credits
3.00
Semester Length
15 weeks
Max Class Size
30
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Lab
Typically Offered
To be determined

Overview

Course Description
This course combines both theory and practical aspects of veterinary anesthesia for both small and large animals. Topics include the calculation of drug doses, pre-anesthetic patient preparation, administration of local anesthetics, sedatives, induction drugs and inhalant anesthetics, monitoring patients under general anesthesia, detection and management of anesthetic complications, as well as post-operative patient care and pain prevention. Knowledge and understanding of inhalant anesthetic machines and monitoring equipment will also be covered.

Enrollment is limited to students in the Animal Health Technology Program.
Course Content

The major topics in the course include:

1.     The anesthesia machine and its component parts:

  • Compressed gas systems
  • Scavenging/waste gas evacuation
  • Breathing circuits
  • Circle breathing system
  • Reservoir bags
  • Carbon dioxide absorbent granules
  • Endotracheal tubes

 

2.          Patient assessment in preparation for anesthesia:

  • Physical and temperament evaluation
  • Pre-anesthesia tests

 

3.          Anesthesia premedication:

  • Sedatives
  • Tranquilizers
  • Analgesic drugs
  • Sedative reversal agents
  • Anticholinergic agents

 

4.          Anesthesia induction:

  • Induction techniques- mask induction
  • Induction techniques-tank induction
  • Induction techniques- injectable
  • Injectable anesthetic induction drugs
  • Endotracheal intubation

 

5.        Anesthesia Maintenance:

  • Inhalant anesthesia maintenance
  • Injectable anesthesia maintenance

 

6.          Anesthesia Support:

  • The concept of controlled poisoning
  • Fluid therapy
  • Heat supplementation
  • Ocular protection
  • Assisted breathing

 

7.        Anesthesia Monitoring Techniques:

  • Cardiovascular monitoring
  • Respiratory monitoring
  • Species specific monitoring priorities
Learning Activities

This course includes 3 hours of classroom instruction as well as 2 hours of laboratory activity per week.

Means of Assessment

Quizzes                                    20-30%

Assignments                             15-35

Attendance & Participation             10

Final Exam                                20-35__

                                                100%

 

Grades:      A+ 95-100,     A 90-94,      A- 85-89,      B+ 80-84,      B 75-79,      B- 70-74,

 

                   C+ 65-69,       C 60-64,      C- 55-59,      P 50-54,        F 0-49.

 

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course students will be able to:

  1. understand the function of both large and small animal inhalant anesthetic machines.
  2. operate an inhalant anesthetic machine for the delivery of general anesthesia to companion and food animals.
  3. understand the basic pharmacology of drugs used in implementation of local anesthesia, sedation and inhalant anesthesia.
  4. calculate sedative and anesthetic drug dosages for an individual animal.
  5. have a working knowledge of the routes of anesthesia drug administration used in veterinary medicine.
  6. monitor the depth of anesthesia.
  7. use the following anesthetic monitoring devices to detect anesthesia related problems: 
  • Esophageal stethoscope
  • Doppler blood pressure monitor
  • Oscillometric blood pressure monitor
  1. intubate companion and food animal species.
  2. understand the function of compressed gas delivery systems associated with the inhalant anesthesia machine.
  3. understand the occupational hazards associated with workplace exposure to anesthetic drugs.
  4. intervene during anesthesia emergency situations.
  5. exhibit a working knowledge of anesthesia emergency drugs.
Textbook Materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students

 

  1. Lake, T.  Dosage Calculation for Veterinary Nurses and Technicians.  Current ed., Butterworth Heinemann Publishing. (required).
  2. McCurnin, D.M. & Bassert, J.M.  Clinical Textbook for Veterinary Technicians.  Current ed., Elsevier   (required).
  3.  McKelvey D., Hollingshead, W.K.  Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia.  Elsevier Press. Current ed.,(required).
  4.  Wanamaker, BP & Massey, K.L.  Applied Pharmacology for the Veterinary Technician 3 Current ed., Saunders-Elsevier (required).
  5.  Romich, J.A., 2005.  Fundamentals of Pharmacology for Veterinary Technicians.  Thomson Delmar Learning.  (recommended). 

Requisites

Prerequisites

AHTT 1203 Veterinary Care 2

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer Details for AHTT 2108
There are no applicable transfer credits for this course.

Course Offerings

Winter 2025