Task force veterinary anatomy: joint efforts of the five German veterinary schools to ensure education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the start of the COVID-pandemic in March 2020, the Institutes of Veterinary Anatomy of the five German educational institutions were confronted with the challenge of digitalising all lectures for the second and fourth semesters of veterinary students. After an online kick-off event and a preliminary status quo meeting, available digital teaching material was exchanged for students to stream from learning platforms. Lectures were either synchronized or made available as audio recordings and connotated slides on the learning platforms.

Integration and potential of teaching communication skills in the study of veterinary medicine in Germany.

Presentation of the current range of courses regarding communication at the five German educational institutions for veterinary medicine. In addition to learning objectives and individual solutions, possible potential for future developments are presented. Interviews with communication educators at the five German education institutions and subsequent synopsis.

Status Quo of Progress Testing in Veterinary Medical Education and Lessons Learned.

Progress testing is an assessment tool for longitudinal measurement of increase in knowledge of a specific group, e.g., students, which is well-known in medical education.

Gross anatomical study of the thoracolumbar primary dorsal branches and their course from the spinal cord to the skin in the cat.

The course of spinal nerves and the corresponding cutaneous areas are fundamental for numerous therapeutic approaches used in complementary veterinary medicine. Positive effects of these methods are primarily based on segmental reflex arcs which are associated with the course of the spinal nerves. In this morphological study, the lateral cutaneous branches of the thoracolumbar dorsal branches from Th9 to L7 were examined in cats with special regard to their anatomical course.

Does Studying Veterinary Medicine Improve Students' Haptic Perception Ability? A Pilot Study With Two Age-Groups.

Haptic perception is an important tool for veterinarians. The present study analyzed the association between the haptic perception threshold of veterinary students and their palpatory experience. To approach this goal, 35 female students of veterinary medicine were divided into two groups with different levels of experience: (a) students with little practical experience, at the beginning of their studies (first year), and (b) students close to the end of their theoretical training (fourth year).