Category Archives: General

There is a wide range of opinions about most medical topics in veterinary medicine, and rarely sufficient evidence to definitively establish who’s right and who’s wrong. For better or worse, we have tremendous individual latitude in deciding what treatments to … Continue reading →

Cancer is a common and frightening disease, and many pet owners will have to face making decisions about cancer care for their pets at some point. While there are many therapies that can improve quality of life for a veterinary … Continue reading →

I first wrote about the subject of hospice care for animals in the first year of this blog, 2009. I feel strongly that there is a need to adapt the concepts of hospice and palliative care developed in human medicine … Continue reading →

The focus of this blog is the relationship between science and medicine, with an emphasis on skepticism, not politics. However, larger cultural problems in our attitudes towards science and reason are relevant in that they impact how people perceive science … Continue reading →

I recently came across an interesting paper that cited some of my previous writing about the relationship between evidence-based medicine and alternative medicine. M.A. Memon, J. Shmalberg, H.S. Adair III, S. Allweiler, J.N. et al. Integrative veterinary medical education and … Continue reading →

One of the reasons I chose the acupuncture course I am currently taking is that the instructors are very clear about rejecting the Traditional Chinese Medicine mythology of Qi, Yin and Yang, and all the rest that is often used … Continue reading →

A recent blog post promoted by the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (AHVMA) asks the question, “Is Evidence-based Medicine at a Dead End?” Since scientific evidence often fails to support the beliefs and claims of alternative vets, and the AHVMA … Continue reading →

I ran across this article recently with a board-certified specialist in veterinary emergency medicine recommending so-called Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) for critically ill patients. As I’ve discussed in detail, there is some very limited evidence for a few potentially … Continue reading →

I have written several times about the efforts of alternative vets to circumvent the systems intended to ensure quality and scientific legitimacy in continuing education for veterinarians. In brief, most states require vets to regularly take a certain number of … Continue reading →

Back in 2010, I reported on a systematic review evaluating the use of pheromones to treat stress or other undesirable behaviors in cats and dogs. Of the 7 studies in cats and 7 in dogs that were of sufficient quality … Continue reading →