CLINICAL DERMATOLOGY ROTATION

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: Declared in Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with fourth year standing Repeatable for Credit: Yes, unlimited number of completions Last Taught: Fall 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Perform a client interview and obtain historical data that is necessary and pertinent to establishing the cause of skin disease in a dog or cat Audience: Undergraduate 2. Identify and describe the major lesion types that may be found during dermatologic examination of a dog or cat Audience: Undergraduate 3. Demonstrate performance of flea combing, skin scraping, and trichogram procedures as used to assess a patient for parasitic skin disease Audience: Undergraduate 4. Perform and interpret the results of a skin cytology, combine the results with gross observations on dermatologic examination, and interpret these findings to suggest presence/absence and etiologic diagnosis of either yeast or bacterial skin infection, including providing initial treatment recommendations Audience: Undergraduate 5. Perform and interpret the results of an ear cytology, using the results to suggest both an etiologic diagnosis of the condition and an appropriate initial treatment regimen Audience: Undergraduate 6. Outline a logical diagnostic approach sequence (including examinations and tests to be performed) for a dog with a primary owner complaint of pruritic skin disease, aimed at creating a focused list of differential diagnoses specific to the pet’s particular condition Audience: Undergraduate 7. Provide a list of differential diagnoses for a dog with an owner primary complaint of nonpruritic, generalized, noninflammatory hair loss, along with diagnostic tests that would be useful to rule out each of the proposed differential diagnoses Audience: Undergraduate 8. Describe the role of “foundation” and “accessory” treatments in canine atopic dermatitis; list the main available treatment options for each of these categories of treatments along with their advantages, disadvantages, contraindications, and potential adverse effects Audience: Undergraduate 9. List the four main reaction patterns in feline skin that are suggestive of a hypersensitivity disorder, and tests that might be used to establish a definitive diagnosis for these patterns Audience: Undergraduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Perform a client interview and obtain historical data that is necessary and pertinent to establishing the cause of skin disease in a dog or cat Audience: Undergraduate 2. Identify and describe the major lesion types that may be found during dermatologic examination of a dog or cat Audience: Undergraduate 3. Demonstrate performance of flea combing, skin scraping, and trichogram procedures as used to assess a patient for parasitic skin disease Audience: Undergraduate 4. Perform and interpret the results of a skin cytology, combine the results with gross observations on dermatologic examination, and interpret these findings to suggest presence/absence and etiologic diagnosis of either yeast or bacterial skin infection, including providing initial treatment recommendations Audience: Undergraduate 5. Perform and interpret the results of an ear cytology, using the results to suggest both an etiologic diagnosis of the condition and an appropriate initial treatment regimen Audience: Undergraduate 6. Outline a logical diagnostic approach sequence (including examinations and tests to be performed) for a dog with a primary owner complaint of pruritic skin disease, aimed at creating a focused list of differential diagnoses specific to the pet’s particular condition Audience: Undergraduate 7. Provide a list of differential diagnoses for a dog with an owner primary complaint of nonpruritic, generalized, noninflammatory hair loss, along with diagnostic tests that would be useful to rule out each of the proposed differential diagnoses Audience: Undergraduate 8. Describe the role of “foundation” and “accessory” treatments in canine atopic dermatitis; list the main available treatment options for each of these categories of treatments along with their advantages, disadvantages, contraindications, and potential adverse effects Audience: Undergraduate 9. List the four main reaction patterns in feline skin that are suggestive of a hypersensitivity disorder, and tests that might be used to establish a definitive diagnosis for these patterns Audience: Undergraduate