Veterinary Anesthesia Course

Lesson 1 • Legal and Ethical Obligations

Covers controlled substance regulations, record-keeping requirements, and professional standards governing anaesthetic practice. Grounds students in the regulatory context before clinical application.

Lesson 2 • Comparative Animal Physiology Review

Key species differences in cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic function relevant to anaesthetic risk. Builds the physiological baseline needed for all subsequent drug and monitoring decisions.

Lesson 3 • Anaesthetic Drug Classes Overview

Categorises sedatives, induction agents, inhalants, opioids, and reversal agents by mechanism and clinical role. Provides the drug taxonomy students reference in every subsequent chapter.

Lesson 1 • Risk Classification and ASA Scoring

Applies a standardised risk classification system to stratify patients and guide preanaesthetic preparation. Links risk score to specific protocol modifications covered in later chapters.

Lesson 2 • History and Signalment Collection

Structured intake of species, breed, age, weight, and prior anaesthetic history to identify risk factors. Establishes the data foundation for all subsequent evaluation steps.

Lesson 3 • Physical Examination for Anaesthesia

Targeted exam focusing on airway, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems to detect contraindications. Directly informs drug selection and monitoring intensity decisions.

Lesson 4 • Diagnostic Workup and Interpretation

Selecting and interpreting minimum database labs, imaging, and ECG findings relevant to anaesthetic risk. Teaches evidence-based decisions about when additional diagnostics change the anaesthetic plan.

Lesson 1 • Opioid Premedication

Selects full and partial mu-agonists and mixed agonist-antagonists for preoperative pain control and sedation. Connects opioid choice to procedure type and patient pain score.

Lesson 2 • Benzodiazepines and Adjunct Agents

Diazepam, midazolam, and maropitant as adjuncts that reduce induction doses and prevent vomiting. Demonstrates how combining drug classes achieves balanced premedication.

Lesson 3 • Phenothiazines and Butyrophenones

Mechanism, dosing, and adverse effects of acepromazine and droperidol as tranquilisers in veterinary patients. Highlights breed and species contraindications critical for safe use.

Lesson 4 • Goals of Preanaesthetic Medication

Defines sedation, anxiolysis, analgesia, and vagolysis as distinct preanaesthetic objectives. Frames drug selection as goal-driven rather than protocol-driven.

Lesson 1 • Endotracheal Intubation

Technique, tube sizing, and cuff management for endotracheal intubation across canine, feline, and exotic species. Secures the airway as the critical transition from induction to maintenance.

Lesson 2 • Intravenous Induction Agents

Propofol, alfaxalone, ketamine, and etomidate compared by onset, duration, and cardiovascular profile. Guides agent selection based on patient status established in prior chapters.

Lesson 3 • Intramuscular and Alternative Induction

Tiletamine-zolazepam, ketamine combinations, and alfaxalone IM for uncooperative or exotic patients. Addresses situations where IV access cannot be established before induction.

Lesson 1 • Anaesthetic Machine Components

Identifies and explains the function of flowmeters, vaporisers, breathing circuits, and scavenging systems. Provides the equipment literacy required before students operate machines clinically.

Lesson 2 • Vaporiser Titration and Flow Rates

Adjusting vaporiser settings and fresh gas flow to achieve target depth while minimising agent waste. Integrates depth assessment with machine operation for dynamic intraoperative management.

Lesson 3 • Maintenance Complications

Identifies and corrects hypotension, hypoventilation, hypothermia, and awareness during maintenance. Reinforces systematic troubleshooting as a core intraoperative skill.

Lesson 4 • Anaesthetic Depth Assessment

Uses eye position, jaw tone, pedal reflex, and respiratory pattern to evaluate anaesthetic depth in real time. Teaches students to distinguish light, surgical, and deep anaesthetic planes.

Lesson 1 • Neuromuscular Monitoring

Train-of-four stimulation and clinical signs to assess neuromuscular blockade depth and reversal adequacy. Prepares students for procedures requiring muscle relaxants introduced in advanced chapters.

Lesson 2 • Respiratory Monitoring

Tidal volume, respiratory rate, end-tidal CO2, and SpO2 trends to assess ventilation and oxygenation. Connects respiratory data to ventilator adjustments and inhalant titration decisions.

Lesson 3 • Anaesthesia Record Keeping

Completing a real-time anaesthesia record that captures vitals, drug doses, and events at defined intervals. Establishes documentation habits that support quality review and legal compliance.

Lesson 4 • Cardiovascular Monitoring

ECG, pulse oximetry, blood pressure, and capnography as the core cardiovascular monitoring quartet. Teaches interpretation of each parameter and their combined clinical significance.

Lesson 1 • Locoregional Analgesia Techniques

Nerve blocks, epidurals, and local infiltration using lidocaine and bupivacaine to provide site-specific analgesia. Reduces systemic drug requirements and improves recovery quality.

Lesson 2 • NSAIDs and Adjunct Analgesics

COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitor selection, timing, and contraindications alongside gabapentin, amantadine, and ketamine as adjuncts. Demonstrates how non-opioid agents reduce opioid requirements.

Lesson 3 • Postoperative Pain Reassessment

Structured reassessment intervals, rescue analgesia triggers, and transition to oral analgesics for discharge. Closes the perioperative analgesic loop started at premedication.

Lesson 4 • Opioid Analgesic Protocols

Perioperative opioid selection, dosing intervals, and CRI techniques for sustained intraoperative and postoperative analgesia. Builds on opioid pharmacology introduced in Chapter 3.

Lesson 1 • Airway Emergencies

Laryngospasm, bronchospasm, airway obstruction, and failed extubation managed with stepwise rescue techniques. Builds on intubation skills from Chapter 4 for emergency reintubation.

Lesson 2 • Recovery Monitoring Protocols

Continuous observation parameters, extubation criteria, and sternal recumbency milestones for safe recovery room management. Translates monitoring skills from Chapter 6 into the recovery context.

Lesson 3 • Recovery Phase Physiology

Reversal of anaesthetic drug effects, thermoregulatory return, and airway reflex recovery as the physiological basis of the recovery period. Identifies the window of highest patient vulnerability.

Lesson 4 • Anaesthetic Overdose and Reversal

Recognising and treating inhalant or injectable overdose using reversal agents, supportive care, and ventilatory support. Integrates reversal pharmacology from Chapter 3 into emergency scenarios.