The Aquatic Medicine Program at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine serves as a resource and aquatic animal facility for faculty and graduate students. The program focuses on the diseases, diagnosis, pathology, immunology, parasitology and bacteriology of both vertebrate and invertebrate aquatic organisms. The laboratory is equipped to maintain a variety of freshwater and marine species, and provide a basic laboratory for investigations into these organisms. The Aquatic Medicine Laboratory also serves as a source of collaborative efforts with other institutions and agencies interested in the culture, diseases, and problems associated with aquatic organisms.

The objectives of the VMRCVM Aquatic Medicine Program are:

  1. To provide all veterinary students with an introduction to aquatic animal medicine through both lectures and laboratories in elective offerings.
     
  2. To provide experience and advanced training in aquatic animal medicine to post-DVM and graduate students.
     
  3. To provide expertise in the health evaluation and management of aquatic animal species.
     
  4. To develop a veterinary database for the establishment of clinical assessment values and diagnostic assays for commonly presented species.
  
ILAR Journal
 
The May 2011 issue of the ILAR Journal focuses on the Welfare and Use of Invertebrates in the Laboratory and Classroom. In "Culture and Maintenance of Selected Invertebrates in the Laboratory and Classroom" authors Stephen A. Smith, Joseph M. Scimeca, and Mary E. Mainous discuss techniques for culturing commonly maintained invertebrates in captivity. Dr. Smith also authored a second paper on "Invertebrate Resources on the Internet".

Volume 52, No. 2,
pp 153-164, 165-174