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In the veterinary world, the term signalment describes important basic
information about a patient namely the species, breed, age, and sex.
We further classify sex according to whether the animal is entire,
which means that none of its reproductive organs have been removed.
Or whether it is neutered, which means that it has been castrated in a male
animal or spayed in a female animal.
The signalment can give important background information,
which can help rule in or out certain diagnoses.
For example, pregnancy can be ruled out as a cause of abdominal distention in
a geriatric, female, neutered chihuahua.
Similarly, if an adult Cavalier King Charles Spaniel presents with signs of
coughing and exercising intolerance, the veterinarian surgeon would be likely to
investigate endocardiosis as a possible diagnosis.
As this breed is particularly predisposed to the condition.
If you remember back to week two of this MOOC, endocardiosis was a disease that you
learned about which leads to distortion of heart valves and
possibly secondary heart failure.
Coming back to the signalment, this is often the first thing that we state when
we discuss a case with colleagues.
And our final year students do this when they present their cases at ward rounds in
the hospitals before they move on to describe further details about the animal.
In addition, for the reasons that we've just outlined, if you are an owner
phoning a veterinary surgeon for advice about your animal, it can be very helpful
to describe their signalment at the start of the conversation.
So just to remind you, the signalment of an animal refers to its species,
breed, age, and sex.
When we look at this dog and we also refer to our clinical records for it,
we can describe its signalment as a 12 year old male, entire, black labrador dog.
1:55
Over the next few minutes, we'll be working on using our observation skills to
describe the signalment of dogs using photographs as prompts.
As we are working from photos rather than accurate clinical records or real life,
we will have to estimate the age of an animal in terms of puppy, juvenile, adult,
or geriatric.
And in addition,
it may not be possible to identify the sex of an animal accurately from the photo.
2:20
We should just point out that it can be very difficult to
estimate the age of a dog using observation skills alone.
However, some indicators might include, how does the overall size and
confirmation of the dog compare with that breed?
Are all of the teeth present?
And if so, are they temporary or are the temporary or adult?
Are there any missing?
And how much tartar and wear and tear is present on the teeth, generally?
How mobile is the dog?
Is there any sign of stiffness, lameness, weakness or wobbliness?
Is there any evidence of muscle wastage, for example, over the top of the head.
And we can look at grey hairs around the muzzle, and on other parts of the body.
But be careful in using this as the sole indicator of age,
as grey hairs can also just be part of the normal coloration for an individual dog.
3:08
So having introduced you to this concept, let's now move on to start developing your
first clinical skill, describing the signalment of an animal.
In the following quiz you will be shown a photograph of three different dogs.
Record the signalment for each dog to include its species, its breed.
And if needs be, use the term crossbreed where appropriate.
Its age, and all we need here is puppy, juvenile, adult, or
geriatric, and its sex.
So as we've said male or female, and neutered or entire.
If you cannot identify any of the classifications from the photo,
just record not visible.
We'll give you 30 seconds before moving onto the next photo,
but feel free to pause the presentation if you need more time.
So here is slide number one
in the signalment quiz.
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So the signalment for this dog is a dog, obviously, a crossbreed.
Adult and male, although it's not possible to confirm from
the photo whether this dog is neutered or entire.
So moving onto slide number two in the signalment quiz.
Again, we'll give you 30 seconds to have a look at the photo.
5:16
So the signalment for this animal is a dog, a Jack Russell terrier.
In terms of age, it's definitely adult, but possibly geriatric.
When we look at the muscle waste between its eye and
its ear, and also the amount of tartar on its teeth.
And the dog is male,
and although it's not possible to definitely confirm this from the photo,
the region between the hind legs does suggest that the dog may be entire.
Moving onto slide number three, and the final slide in the signalment quiz.
Again, another 30 seconds to have a look at this photo.
6:19
So the signalment for this animal is a dog, a black labrador,
and a puppy in terms of age.
Although the sex is difficult to distinguish, as there's a large shadow in
the region where a penis would be found in a male puppy.
Dr Jessie PatersonBSc (Hons) Agricultural Chemistry, PhD, PgDip
Kay AitchisonBSc Agriculture (Hons Animal Production Science)
Prof Susan RhindBVMS, PhD, FRCPath, PFHEA, MRCVS
Dr Gurå Therese BergkvistBSc Hons (Vet Sci), BVM&S, PhD, MRCVS
Rachel WhittingtonBVSC MRCVS
Dr Catriona BellBVetMed, PhD, PGCAP, MRCVS
Dr Andrew GardinerBVM&S, Cert SAS, MSc, PhD, MRCVS
