Must-Have Veterinary Instruments

November 17, 2014

Being a veterinarian, your career is highly specialized and requires very specific equipment and veterinary instruments. Just as with any medical professional, there are certain "must-have" tools you need to be able to run an efficient and effective veterinary office. In this blog we will be looking at the essential veterinary instruments that will keep your patient's tails wagging.

Veterinary Stethoscope

Nothing fancy, nothing sophisticated, but essential all the same. The stethoscope is a basic tool of all healthcare professionals, but vets need specific veterinary stethoscopes for their patients. These stethoscopes allow you listen to the heart and lung sounds of animals small and large. They have specially designed acoustic cups to help you clearly hear and diagnose the animals in your care. These stethoscopes are designed to the same standards as those for physicians and nurses, so you'll never have to doubt the quality of your tools.

Littmann are the top brand when it comes to stethoscopes, and they now offer a new type of satin tubing specifically designed for vets to prevent sticky tubing making the stethoscope easier and more comfortable to use.

Littmann Cardiology IV Diagnostic Stethoscope: Satin Alabaster Tube 6186C

£175.99

Littmann Classic III Monitoring Stethoscope: Satin Champagne Rose Tube 5910C

£87.99

Littmann Stethoscopes

Diagnostic Set

A diagnostic set, more specifically a veterinarian set is something you will use daily in your veterinary career. Most diagnostic sets will include an otoscope and an ophthalmoscope, an otoscope is used for examining the ear canal, depending on the type of otoscope head it can also be used when removing ear wax by allowing a tool to fit through the specula. An ophthalmoscope is used to exam the inside of the eye, especially the retina, optic nerve and blood vessels.

When buying a diagnostic kit there are a few different types you need to consider, depending on how remote of a vet you are you may want to look into getting a pocket set, these are smaller and are usually made of plastic or a lighter metal to make it more portable.

You will also need to decide which method of charging you would like it to have, the most common are battery, USB rechargeable, dock rechargeable and wall mounted which receives power through the mains.

When it comes to brands of diagnostic sets the top are Welch Allyn, Heine, Keeler, Luxamed and Reister.

Welch Allyn Rechargeable MacroView Otoscope Vet Set including (from the right) a Welch Allyn Coaxial Opthalmoscope attached to a metal c-cell battery handle, a Welch Allyn MacroView Vet Otoscope attached to a metal c-cell battery handle and 5 black vet ear specula, one of which is attached to the otoscope head. The set is displayed against a white background.

Welch Allyn MacroView Otoscope Battery Vet Set & Case

£318.99

HEINE Veterinary Diagnostic Set Otoscope/Ophthalmoscope Set Closed 2.5v

£1,455.99

Combined Diagnostic Sets

Thermometer

Another diagnostic tool you will need is a thermometer, you will need to take temperatures of animals very regularly as a vet so making sure your thermometer is of quality and accurate is essential for diagnosis. Luckily you can pickup a decent quality thermometer from a reputable for a reasonable price, they are also small in size so can easily be carried around if you are working as a remote vet.

Contactless thermometers can make taking temperatures much easier, especially for vets due to animals frequent movement. They are also more comfortable for both the vet and animal and are less evasive.

Scian Digital Infrared Non-Contact Forehead Thermometer

£18.99

Omron MC-343 Flex Temp Smart Thermometer

£7.59

Thermometers

Cauteries

If you do any sort of surgery in your clinic, a cauterizing machine is one of the best tools you can have to assist in sealing and closing off wounds. There are many options available and many even come as simple penlight lasers. But however simple or complex, they're certainly useful in many procedures and situations. From stopping blood loss and exsanguination, closing amputations, or even coagulating a superficial lesion or wound, having the right cauterizing machine makes all the difference. The most popular versions among vets are those which allow you to change the size of the tip and replace the batteries to ensure your investment can be used for all your patients and for a long time to come.

Disposable Cautery, Medium Temperature Thick tip - 28mm - Schuco

Disposable Cautery, High Temperature Fine Tip

£11.99

Disposable Cautery, Medium Temperature Thick tip - 28mm -

Disposable Cautery, High Temperature Thick tip - 28mm

£14.99

Cautery

Veterinary Scales

As a vet its very likely you will regularly need to monitor the weight of the animals that come to your clinic, having a decent set of scales makes sure that the readings are accurate, many professional veterinary scales are also made to make weighing animals much more efficient and easier.

Seca 354 Digital Baby/Infant Scale

£151.99

SECA Electronic Multifunction 635 Scales SE635

Seca 635 Electronic Bariatric Platform Scales

£962.99

Scales & Measurement

Veterinary Bag

This doesn't necessarily count as a piece of equipment however having an appropriate bag to keep your equipment in makes sure its all kept safe and protects it from damage. it also makes it easier for remote vets to carry their equipment around.

Elite 'VETS' Veterinarian Bag

£119.99

Elite Bags Lightweight Medical Bag

£64.99

Bags & Cases

Calculator

Were you expecting something more fancy and complex? Vets use calculators constantly. Much of what you do requires converting measurements between pounds and kilograms, millimeters and centimeters and meters and inches, liters and milliliters, and more. While for most vets this math comes naturally, sometimes you need a little help. For such important work, it's essential to be certain of all calculations, because some measurements can mean the difference between life and death. For this reason you know to always check to ensure they are correct. A basic calculator is a veterinarian's best friend when it comes to ensuring proper measurements. What essential veterinary instruments and other tools are your must-haves? Please share them with us in the comments. We would love to hear what your favorite, essential tools are!

Anesthesia Machine

Obviously, you don't want animals to suffer from the pain of surgeries and procedures. That is why they invest in high quality anesthesia machines. Considering the delicate and difficult balance required for proper anesthesia, it makes sense that animals require specialized anesthesia equipment. After all, if dosages vary widely amongst humans, the differences among animals can be quite extreme. So you need to ensure your equipment does the job properly. Anesthetic equipment in a vet's office will ensure that four basic functions are being performed properly: providing oxygen, mixing the anesthetics properly (gases and vapors and their concentrations), enabling ventilation and breathing for the patient, and minimizing risks by automating much of the process. Depending on the amount of surgeries a your practice perform, this could be the most important and essential tool you own.

Portable Ultrasound Scanner

If your practice has you making house calls, especially to rural patients, a portable veterinary ultrasound scanner is a tool you can't function without. By giving you real time results of an animal's condition it allows you to make quicker, more sound judgments on treatment options even when you may be far away from a full service clinic. This tool is especially crucial for vets during breeding seasons as it makes it far simpler to check up on gestating animals.

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