Tufts CMS Veterinary Services
The principal responsibility of Veterinary Services (VS) is to maintain and improve the health status of the experimental animals, thus providing investigative staff with high quality research animals necessary for their studies.
Working closely with Husbandry services, all animals are observed daily and those with health issues are evaluated by the VS animal technicians. If a treatment plan is warranted, VS will establish consultation with investigative staff. Animals with unexpected morbidity or mortality may be submitted to Tufts Comparative Pathology Services for necropsy as part of the disease and health monitoring program. VS provides oversight and implementation of the enrichment programs for all research animals.
Additionally, VS provides training to investigative staff via a combination of regularly scheduled didactic and hands-on sessions as well as a variety of written instructional materials for inter- and intra-department use. Investigative staff training includes IACUC-mandated new investigator training. VS oversees species specific, hands-on, wet labs and special technique sessions. VS staff provide hands-on training seminars for basic instruction in animal handling and various techniques, such as blood withdrawal and injections (i.e. Rodents 101, 102, 103, and 201); anesthesia training; and surgical training. Individualized training is also available upon request.
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