Looking into Animals: Necropsies at the TiHo
How and why are they performed? And what is examined?
Veterinary pathologists have varied tasks: they determine the causes of diseases and death in pets, zoo animals, and livestock, and also perform research on the emergence and course of diseases. They acquire their basic skills for this purpose during necropsy exercises in the seventh semester of their veterinary education.
Regular necropsies are also performed at the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW) at the TiHo in Büsum, for instance in order to determine potential causes of reducing inventories or the stranding of marine mammals. Here you can look over Professor Dr. Ursula Siebert’s shoulder while the Head of the ITAW performs the necropsy of a porpoise.
