Veterinary pharmacology investigates the effects of drugs on the body of different species and how the animal body processes drugs, providing the basis for drug doses, animal treatment guidelines and safety periods for food products produced using medicated animals. Clinical toxicology investigates the adverse effects of substances in the animal body and the clinical treatment of poisoning cases.
Veterinary pharmacology investigates the absorption and distribution of drugs into the body, as well as their conversion and secretion in the body with regard to the unique features of animals. Understanding the mechanisms of action of drugs is a prerequisite for understanding the desired and adverse effects of therapies as well as for avoiding the latter. The therapeutic doses of drugs, appropriate care guidelines and restrictions on use (safety periods) for food products originating in medicated animals are based on research in veterinary pharmacology.
Clinical toxicology investigates the adverse effects of drugs and other foreign substances in the animal body as well as the clinical treatment of poisoning cases.
Our current research efforts are targeted at drugs that are used to sedate and anaesthetise animals as well as relieve their pain. A particular focus is on pharmaceutical agents which affect alpha-2 adrenoceptors as well as anti-inflammatory drugs. To be able to effectively manage pain in animals, it must first be observed and identified. This is why we also investigate the occurrence of pain in various species in a wide spectrum of clinical circumstances. Additionally, we are expanding the scientific understanding of animal feelings by employing a novel research method, which involves the documentation of canine cognitive capacity. This information can also be utilised in monitoring the efficacy of pain medication administered to animals.
Pharmaceutical agents known as alpha-2 drugs on the basis of their mechanism of action are used as premedication for sedating and anaesthetising animals. Alpha-2 drugs affect the central nervous system, causing a decrease in the level of alertness and pain sensation.
To be able to effectively relieve pain in animals, it must first be observed and identified. We investigate the effects of a range of clinical pain states on animal behaviour and movement, as well as the changes perceivable in behaviour and movement when relieving pain with drugs or by treating the cause. Another topic of our research is relieving pain experienced during and after surgery and other procedures as effectively as possible in a number of species.
Research on animal pain and its treatment carried out at various departments of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine