34199 - Veterinary Toxicology

Learning outcomes

Cases of intoxication in aquaculture and the open sea may be related to environmental contaminants, misuse of drugs, or contact with toxins and poisons produced by aquatic organisms. They may be related to acute or long-term episodes (subchronic, chronic, reproductive effects).
In this context, the student should receive information that will allow him/her to:
- Know the main environmental toxins/contaminants that characterize the aquatic environment and that are able to determine cases of intoxication in farmed or open water fish
- Evaluate the signs, symptoms, or all those changes that the animal may present, considering possible other causes, thus following a differential diagnosis approach
- To take samples to obtain a confirmation of the diagnosis of intoxication, made by the veterinarian, through laboratory analysis.
The teaching aims to describe the sources of toxicants, their nature, mechanism of action, clinical signs.
Knowledge and skills to be acquired
The course "Veterinary Toxicology" aims to provide the student with useful information to consider the possibility of an intoxication; moreover are provided information related to the collection of samples (live animal, dead animal, water) for research / analytical confirmation of the nature of the toxicant.
Upon completion of teaching:
- KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND - the student knows the kinetics, metabolism, mechanism of action, major clinical signs of the proposed classes of toxicants, species-specific differences, and current legislation.
- ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING - the student possesses the tools to:
o Collect signaling and history data.
o Perform the manual skills to collect biological specimens for use in laboratory analysis for toxicant detection
o Evaluate any species-specific differences in response to toxicants
o Apply current legislation regarding the presence of toxics in the aquatic environment and food.
- LEARNING SKILLS, ADJUDICE AUTONOMY, COMMUNICATION SKILLS - the student is able to:
- Connect different but related topics with regard to especially the special part of the subject (toxic families)
- Reason critically about the various topics of the subject, avoiding mnemonic knowledge
- Clarify and discuss with the teacher the topics covered.

Course contents

GENERAL PART
- Definition of drug and toxicant.
- Concepts of acute, sub-acute, chronic toxicity, mutagenesis, carcinogenesis, reproductive toxicity.
- Sampling (live animal, dead animal, water) for analytical research/confirmation of the nature of the toxicant.

SPECIAL PART
- Heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium).
- Pyrethroids.
- Organophosphorus insecticides.
- Polyhalogenated biphenyls.
- Dioxins.
- PFOS.
- Neonicotinoids.
- Freshwater and marine algal toxins.
- The main poisonous animals found in the aquatic environment.

For each toxin, the kinetics, metabolism, mechanism of action, main clinical signs of the proposed classes of toxins, species-specific differences will be presented and hints of intoxication therapy will be provided.

Prerequisites
The student attending this course must already know the chemistry and the biochemistry, the normal morphology and the physiological functioning of the different organs and apparatuses, as well as the fundamentals of the pathological processes acquired through the study of general pathology.
It is necessary for the student to have an understanding of spoken and written English to allow for the reading of both slides (which the teacher may use in class) and excerpts from publications, scientific texts and manuals.

Readings/Bibliography

Teaching material

Teaching material comprises a list of recommended texts, course note and material (slides and book chapter to be studied) made available to students through websites (https://virtuale.unibo.it).

The following texts are especially recommended:

• Richard T. Di Giulio, David E. Hinton. The Toxicology of Fishes. Taylor and Francis, 2008.
•  Daniel Schlenk, William H. Benson. Target Organ Toxicity in Marine and Freshwater Teleosts. Vol 1 Organs, Vol 2 Systems. Taylor and Francis, 2001.

Syllabus

Syllabus, together teaching materials, is available through websites (https://virtuale.unibo.it).

 

The access to the didactic material is progressive (follows the sequence of classes given) and conditioned to self-evaluation test performance.

Be aware that slides of lessons ARE NOT TO BE CONSIDERED AS STUDYING TEXT, THEY ARE JUST AN HELP FOR TEACHING

Teaching methods

Prof.ssa Annalisa Zaccaroni is the holder of the course and responsible for the integrated course.

Didactic methods and ways to carry out the lessons

The course consists of frontal lessons (21 hours).

Face-to-face lessons are based on a close interaction between the teacher and the students; during the lesson the teacher asks questions to the students in order to stimulate their ability to reason and to connect the treated topics.

Lectures include slide shows that are useful to both the lecturer and the students as a guide for explanation. The student may interact with the teacher to ask for clarification of the topic.

Students may be asked to read material (book chapters, articles) beforehand, which will then be discussed in the classroom with the lecturer.
Although not compulsory, the attendance of the lessons is strongly recommended because they are clarified in detail information presented synthetically in the slides of the lesson, deepened and explained aspects present in the additional material provided by the teacher and in the book chapters indicated as mandatory to study. Attendance can then certainly facilitate the preparation of the exam.

Assessment methods

Student assessment method

The end-of-Course examination will be an oral test. The oral examination will assess whether the student has acquired the knowledge and know-how detailed in the Course objectives.

The student will be considered to have passed the oral examination if he/she replies correctly to three key questions on the general and special sections of the course as dealt with during the course. In addition:

• the student’s knowledge with be assessed with further questions regarding specific aspects of the three broad topics mentioned above;

• it is essential that the candidate have a thorough knowledge of the subject matter of the Courses taken in previous years (requirements);

• it will pay particular attention to the student’s ability to expound the information learned in a logical and deductive manner. In addition, particular attention will be given to the student’s ability to adopt a broad rational approach to the subject matter, showing a capability to link the various aspects of the course issues;

• during the examination students will not be allowed to use support material like textbooks, notes or computers.

• Attention will also be paid to the ability of the student to correlate the topics covered in the two different modules of which the course is divided in order to verify also the student's reasoning ability. The final vote is agreed by the two teachers at the end of the examination and is expressed in thirtieths.

The profit exams will be held in presence, except for the exceptions provided by the University regulations for the Coronavirus emergency and for special situations. In these cases, the possibility of conducting the exams in online mode is also provided.

How to enrol in examinations and the examination calendar

Students may sign up for the oral examination only through the Alma Esami online system. For further enrolment instructions, please go to: ( https://almaesami.unibo.it/almaesami/welcome.htm ).

Examination dates appear in special windows for course students, and are scheduled throughout the year for out-of-course students.

• When the number of candidates enrol for an examination is high, the examining committee undertakes to ensure that candidates shall be able to sit the examination at the first possible opportunity.

Teaching tools

Video player to show power point slides.

 

There will be a large use of immages and video. Students with specific need, which might require different supports or material, are invited to contact directly the Professor in order to prepare specific material.

Office hours

See the website of Annalisa Zaccaroni