Weeks 3 and 4

In Berlin,new visited the Leibniz institute for zoo and wildlife they had a 128 tesla CT. They are getting a 256 tesla CT soon.  The images were amazing.  We got to watch a skull of a primate go through the MRI.  We also got to e images of a cerebellum that was pushing out of the foramen magnum of a large cat.  They have done surgeries to open the foramen to have less pressure on the cerebellum and the cats had reversed signs of ataxia.  I thought that it was also really interesting that they are doing comparative CT and Radiograph images on elephants that are known to have lameness.  Since you can not send an elephant through a CT while it is alive.  They take radiographs of an elephant foot and when it is euthanized take the foot and send it through the CT.  They thought before this study that there was no soft tissue damage with arthritis in elephants because radiographs are not the best for viewing soft tissue damage.  Now they know and are pairing the radiographs with the CT images to determine what soft tissue damage is occurring and being able to treat the animal better.  This comparative imaging diagnosis is catching on more in the zoos in Germany and in Europe.  We also got to meet a Dr. That does 3D printing.  He had a 3D image of a tiger fetus.  He has own multiple awards for his research and it was amazing to see where the future of veterinary medicine can be heading.  After the institute, we went to a concentration camp, sachsenhausan that was about 45 minutes outside of Berlin.  The feeling evoked by the images are indescribable.  I could have spent all day there reading the history and walking through the buildings.  It was a large concentration camp, though not the largest.  The way they executed the prisoners there was to act like they were visiting the doctor.  They were looked over and told to open their mouth to look for gold in teeth.  If hugely had gold in their teeth, they had a mark put on them to indicate that after they were shot they needing to go to a separate area to have teeth pulled.  They used a measuring device that had a small hole between the planks of wood.  There would be a man in the room behind them and when they pressed down on the measuring stick it would keep them still enough to shoot.  The ruins of the execution room were preserved and they had a double wall for insulation so the sound would be muffled so the other member of camp could not hear.  It was fairly chilly the day that we were there.  I could not imaging living through the winter with only a thin layer of clothes for protection.  They would make them line up I the front of the camp morning and night for roll call.  If someone was missing, the other members of camp would have to stay there until they were found, dead or alive. As if the barbed wire was not enough, there was strip of land about 10 feet in front of the wall that if you stepped foot on the land you were shot without question.  It was said that a lot of suicides occurred this way.  They were given rotten potatoes and if they tried to clean or cut the rotten parts, they were beat by the guards.

We took a bus Seal center.  The bus was hot and did not have air conditioning.  This center is used in the region for seal pups that are either lost or abandoned from their mother.  There are "seal hunters" that bring them in.  They do not only bring pups, but if a seal is injured will bring it to the facility.  They try to keep the seals at the center for the least amount of time as possible and release them back to the wild.  pups are only nursed for 4-6 weeks by their mother and then are left on their own.  If there are twins, the mother will only nurse one pup.  We got to see feeding time with the seals.  They do target training with them to get them to go to a specific point in the enclosure do they can do daily physical exams on them.  I thought it was interesting that if a seal is born in captivity they are not allowed to return to the wild.  They will have to separate the male and female when they reach maturity.  They also give "anti baby pills" to the males.
Multimar attformum was the aquarium/learning center.  I thought the center was very interactive for young children and that is important.  There are very few aquariums that have interactive learning stations in the states.
Aquatic wildlife center- I got to do a necropsy on a porpoise.  We started by measuring the porpoise's length and girth.  We then cut into the fat layer and measured the layer of blubber.  We also noted any scars or places of discoloration on the skin.  It was thought that they porpoise was about a year old, which is still considered a juvenile.  We had to take out the intestines and cut into them to see if there were parasites.  There were none.  All of the internal organs were of a normal size.  Porpoises have relatively large internal testicles for the size body they have.  We then went into the thoracic cavity,  the lungs had firm nodules, but were emphyzematous.  Cutting the trachea, there was a large amount of foam that came out of it.  There were multiple fish in the stomach and esophagus.  We cut into the trachea and found a fish lodged in the trachea.  This was thought to be how the porpoise died.  They have the ability to beath and swallow at the same time.  There was a would in the nose that looked fresh and it was thought that he might have been caught in a net.  I really enjoyed the lecture that was given on marine life and the conservation efforts that are trying to be out in place in face of the masive amounts of off shore development.
Dinner at Kolles Alter Muschelsaal and lecture by Karl Kolle.   I really liked getting the prospective of the seal hunter.  The food was amazing and the history of the restaurant was incredible.
I liked walking in the Mudflats.  I never knew that there was so much life under the sand.  I wish it would have been a little warmer because my favorite part was making "mud angels".

The Cologne zoo was amazing for the fact that we got behind the scenes tours of the elephants and birds.  I never knew that so much training went into keeping elephants at the zoos.  Feeding the baby elephant was the highlight of the day. I also thought it was interesting the way they trained the elephants to place their heads against the bars to be able to draw blood from an ear.  The zookeeper told us that one of the elephants had a bad experience with the blood draw and it took months for them to be able to draw blood from her again.  I never knew that elephants were so sensitive.  The positive reinforcement training is the same that we use in small animals and it just goes to show that mammals are very similar in their behavior.  The Cologne city tour was one of the best I think on this trip.  The lady was very knowledgeable and funny.  
We also visited the animal shelter in Bonn.  I thought it was a good experience for us to see a shelter in Europe because they seem so different from the shelters in the states.  They are almost never at capacity, do not euthanize because there is no space, and even take animals from other countries that are overpopulated.  I did think that some of the animals there were being kept alive because of some workers emotional attachments to the animals and not looking at it from a medical or ethical perspective.  I thought their cat condos were amazing and wish that shelter in the US could do something like that for their cats for enrichment and adoption purposes.
That afternoon we went to an organic farm.  It made me sad that the community was not in support of the farm and that the. It has put so many regulations on them.  I think it is important to educate our kids as to where our food comes from; wether it be a local organic farm or a farm with 1000s of acres for one or few crops.  We tasted strawberries that were so sweet I almost needed something salty.  I tried a vegetable that I have never even heard of before.  I ate a purple flower.

Next it was off to Utrecht. This was my favorite vet school that we visited.  I really enjoyed the tour of the veterinary hospital.  It is interesting that all they see is referral cases and no primary or preventative care.  I liked how the students really wanted to include us and show us a typical day for them.  I guess it helped that the FIFA World Cup was going on and that the Netherlands was playing.  I did not like how some of the students and professors thought that our "4 years of vet school" was inferior to their 6.  When we tried to explain to them that we actually do 8 years total to their 6, they "jokingly" would ask if we are not as smart and if that is why we needed to go longer.  This happened on more than one occasion to multiple people.  I enjoyed hearing how their 6 years was divided up.  I do not think that I would like taking only 1-2 classes at a time though.  In some ways, I thought the system of them being "self taught" is good.  However, I really do feel that there are some things and lectures that should be presented by a knowledgable person, rather than looking all of the information up in a book.  For example, my host student was reading the big red pharmacology book and taking notes.  She said that the professor could really ask anything they wanted from the book and on any drug.  There is way too much information and nobody could ever feel like they are prepared for a test like that.  In that respect, I would think the way we do things is easier.  Also, it was interesting the way they are getting people to track large animal by letting them in, even if they do not have the best grades if they commit to being large animal.

Overall, my experience in Europe has been amazing and I would love to come back.  I have had so many new experiences and have become friends with people that I never would have thought to have got along with in College Station.  I am really glad I went on the trip and will carry the memories with me for a lifetime.