veterinary medicine

noun

: a branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, and treatment of disease and injury in domestic and wild animals

About 36 percent of all veterinarians now devote themselves to small-animal practice. Correspondingly, the discipline of veterinary medicine has become more scientific and specialized.

—Bayard Webster

Another successful non-traditional treatment being steadily incorporated into western veterinary medicine is acupuncture.

—Faith A. Uridel

Examples of veterinary medicine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

He also was arrested on charges of misdemeanor child abuse, unauthorized practice of veterinary medicine for performing surgery on dogs, and dozens of counts of animal cruelty. — Karen Morfitt, CBS News, 4 Aug. 2026

Brown notes the model is appropriate for fields like veterinary medicine because default risk for these students is low. — Asia Alexander, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026

After serving as an army captain, Coover pursued a career in veterinary medicine, graduating from the Kansas State University College of Medicine. — Freddrell Green, Kansas City Star, 27 July 2026

From premium pet food to medical care Whether GLP-1 drugs eventually become commonplace in veterinary medicine remains uncertain. — Elsa Ohlen,carolin Roth, CNBC, 18 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1790, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for veterinary medicine

• biomedicine
• telemedicine

Medical Definition

veterinary medicine

noun

: a branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, and treatment of disease and injury in domestic and wild animals

Stem cells are most commonly used in clinical veterinary medicine in therapeutic applications for the treatment of musculoskeletal injuries in horses and dogs.

—Lisa A. Fortier and Alexander J. Travis, Stem Cell Research and Therapy

Acupuncture is being used much more commonly now as a sole or integrative modality in veterinary medicine and can play a large role in management of inflammation and chronic pain.

—Shauna L. Cantwell, Topics in Companion Animal Medicine