veterinary medicine

noun

: a branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, and treatment of disease and injury in domestic and wild animals

About 36 percent of all veterinarians now devote themselves to small-animal practice. Correspondingly, the discipline of veterinary medicine has become more scientific and specialized.

—Bayard Webster

Another successful non-traditional treatment being steadily incorporated into western veterinary medicine is acupuncture.

—Faith A. Uridel

Examples of veterinary medicine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Pointing students to this avenue, and other pathways in veterinary medicine, is exactly what Dr. Bruno and her fellow veterinarians and professors of veterinary technology at The Believe & Belong Pathway session at the VMX 2025 veterinary conference in Orlando hoped to accomplish. —Rich Pope, Orlando Sentinel, 30 Jan. 2025

This means there’s a lot of crossover between the use of human health interventions, such as antiviral drugs, and those provided in veterinary medicine. —Jackie (ott) Jaakola, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025

Ostrum went on to get his doctor of veterinary medicine degree at Cornell University, according to Veterinary Practice News, and then landed a job at Countryside Veterinary Clinic in Lowville, New York. —Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 13 Nov. 2024

Thomas Pool earned his advanced degree in public health from Harvard University and his doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Oklahoma State University. —Thomas Pool, The Denver Post, 30 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1790, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

veterinary medicine

noun

: a branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, and treatment of disease and injury in domestic and wild animals

Stem cells are most commonly used in clinical veterinary medicine in therapeutic applications for the treatment of musculoskeletal injuries in horses and dogs.

—Lisa A. Fortier and Alexander J. Travis, Stem Cell Research and Therapy

Acupuncture is being used much more commonly now as a sole or integrative modality in veterinary medicine and can play a large role in management of inflammation and chronic pain.

—Shauna L. Cantwell, Topics in Companion Animal Medicine