Veterinary Toxicology (VDPAM 526)

Spring
Veterinary Toxicology
3 Credit Hours
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 11:00-11:50AM
1226 Med

1. Instructors
Instructor-in-charge: Wilson K Rumbeiha DVM, PhD, DABVT, DABT Office hours 12:00 noon to 1
pm M, T, Th. Room V2659, rumbeiha@iastate.edu, phone 4-0630
Other instructors: Steve Ensley, DVM, PhD. Office hours: Office hours 1-5 pm M, T, W, Th, F
Room 1580 Vet Med. Phone 4-2783. E-mail sensley@iastate.edu
Eric Burrough, DVM, PhD, Office hours BY APPOINTMENT room 1655 Vet Med. Phone 4-0190.
E-mail burrough@mail.iastate.edu
Jeff Wolt, PhD. Guest speaker Phone 4-6899. E-mail jdwolt@mail.iastate.edu
Sharon Gwaltney-Brant DVM, PhD, DABT, DABVT. Guest speaker Phone 217-621-6667. E-mail
Sharon.brant@yahoo.com

2. Prerequisites
This course is part of the DVM core curriculum and thus requires completion of the VM1, VM2
and VM3 fall semester. The course will rely on and build on the basic concepts learned in most
of the prior curriculum. In particular the information learned in physiology, pharmacology, clinical
and anatomic pathology will be of critical importance. Non-DVM graduate students who wish to
take this course may ask for a waiver of the pre-requisites from the instructor-in-charge before
enrolling in the course.

3. Goals and Objectives

a. Overview of the course's purpose: Toxicology is the study of poisons and their effects
on animal health and production. This course will focus on the most frequent and
important toxicants in veterinary medicine and the principles and practice of toxicology to
recognize, diagnose, treat and prevent poisoning. Also, besides dealing with poisoned
animals, Veterinary Toxicology is partly about client education. Your contact with clients
will include answering questions about products or the risk of particular situations or
environments. Lectures will emphasize the major learning points of the common clinical
toxicants and how to handle client issues.
b. Subject matter and how the course fits into the curriculum: This course is designed
to provide a core knowledge of veterinary toxicology, from principles of toxicology to
specific effects of toxicants on animal (pets, livestock, and wildlife) health. One goal is to
provide sufficient knowledge for students to meet proficiency requirements in the
veterinary toxicology component of the national board exam. Furthermore, we believe
that the knowledge gained through this course is beneficial to all students regardless of
their clinical track and future career.
c. General Learning Goals/Competencies.
As a result of participating in this course, students will be able to:
i. Correctly use definitions and terminology that describe and quantify toxicological
effects
ii. Calculate dosages and concentrations of toxicants that cause toxic effects and to
assess risk
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 iii. Recognize the factors that impact the effects of toxicants on animal health or
productivity
iv. Recognize clinical signs and organ system effects that characterize important
toxicoses of animals
v. Explain toxicological mechanisms that cause observed responses in affected
animals
vi. Select appropriate detoxification procedures for poisoned animals
vii. Select appropriate specimens/samples for diagnostic testing and/or evaluation of
food safety
viii. Recognize public health or food safety threats associated with common animal
toxicants
ix. Apply scientific thinking in analysis, synthesis and knowledge evaluation in the
veterinary toxicology.

d. The course is organized in 7 modules. Individual modules coalesce the subject matter
around one major theme. Module 1 is the introductory module and consists of lectures
introducing the subject of toxicology, terminology and fundamental principles of
toxicology. We also cover general diagnostic and treatment procedures. Specific effects
of toxicants are covered in subsequent modules: Module 2 effects of pesticides, Module 3
effects of metals and gases, Module 4 effects of feed related toxicants in livestock,
Module 5 effects of natural toxins from animals, plants and other living organisms,
Module 6 effects of toxicants commonly found at home and we conclude by tying the
course together with a review of common toxicants by species in Module 7. Besides
module 1 which introduces the fundamental principles of the course, the other modules
do not necessarily need to follow in that order, and the order may be changed depending
on circumstances. Any changes will be communicated to the class verbally and via
blackboard and/or emails. Students should make it a habit to regularly check for updates.
Besides didactic modules, students of this course will be assigned a research topic in the
first quarter of the semester, by the instructor-in-charge. It is the student’s responsibility
to contact the instructor-in-charge to discuss potential research topics. Once a suitable
topic is identified and assigned, the student will research the topic and write a 10-20 page
critical review of the subject matter of the topic. This written paper should be turned in on
or by the last day of April for grading by the instructor in charge.

e. Specific Objectives
When the course concludes students will be able to:
i. Correctly use definitions and terminology that describe and quantify toxicological
effects
1. Describe or recognize the difference between the terms poison, toxin,
toxicant, toxicity, toxicosis, concentration, dose, dosage, risk, standard
safety margin and chronicity factor
ii. Calculate dosages and concentrations of toxicants that cause toxic effects
1. Given a specific concentration of a chemical in a commercial product,
calculate within + 10%, the dosage provided by a specified amount of the
product

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 2. Given a body weight dosage to an animal, convert that value to a
concentration in food/feed that will provide the stated body weight
dosage
3. Given a ppm concentration of a chemical, convert that concentration to
different forms including mg/dL, mg/kg, µg/g, ng/g, ppb and %.
iii. Recognize the factors that make foreign materials (xenobiotics)/toxicants a risk to
animal health or productivity
1. Given an animal species and organ system, explain how effects of a
chemical can be altered by dosage, metabolism, interactions and
excretion characteristics of the chemical or other chemicals
2. Interpret dose/response relationships including threshold response, non-
threshold response, LD50 response and quantal responses
iv. Recognize clinical signs and organ system effects that characterize important
toxicoses of domestic animals
1. Correctly obtain historical information to support a toxicology diagnosis
v. Identify species differences that affect response to common toxicants
1. Given an animal species and exposure to a specified toxicant, identify
factors that could increase or reduce expected effects on the animal
vi. Explain toxicological mechanisms that cause observed responses in affected
animals
vii. Select appropriate detoxification procedures for poisoned animals
viii. Explain the rationale of use of specific antidotes in therapy of poisoning
ix. Select appropriate tissues, body fluids, environmental and dietary samples for
diagnostic testing in support of a toxicological diagnosis and/or evaluation of food
safety risk
x. Explain to owners or caretakers how to correct conditions of poisoning and
manage animals to prevent a specific poisoning
xi. Recognize public health or food safety threats associated with common animal
toxicants
xii. Learn how to access and use established and reliable print and electronic
resources to characterize a suspected toxicant
xiii. For toxic plants, recognize and identify selected common poisonous plants based
on major characteristics
xiv. Learn critical thinking skills in evaluation of veterinary toxicology literature,
synthesize that knowledge and communicate that knowledge effectively through
a written summary.

4. Course teaching philosophy/ learning activities

This is a team taught course designed to bring in subject matter experts to cover specific topics.
As is the case in any team taught course there may be differences between the lecture styles of
particular faculty. We realize that this does result in some discontinuity and inconsistency in
content delivery and examination of material - however we have decided to balance this situation
with the expert knowledge available on particular specialty areas within our faculty and among
invited guests. Lecture structure may vary along a continuum from traditional straightforward
lecturing with or without power point slides and/or notes- to a more interactive approach with
clicker and group activities. Clicker activities should be expected in the majority of lectures.
Student research of assigned topic will train students in active learning. Through assigned topic

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 students will learn selecting suitable databases and journals for review. By summarizing the
literature, students will learn synthesis skills. Students will also learn scientific writing skills,
referencing published literature from reputable peer-reviewed journals.

5. Textbooks
a. There are NO REQUIRED textbooks for this course. However, the following textbooks
have been reserved at the CVM library for your use.
i. SB617.5 N7 K57 2001 Knight/Walter – A Guide to Plant Poisoning of
Animals in North America
ii. SF757.5 C65 2004 Plumlee – Clinical Veterinary Toxicology (also e-book)
iii. SF992 P64 P48 2013 Peterson et all – Small Animal Toxicology, 3rd ed.
(also e-book)
iv. SF757.5 B63 2011 Osweiler et al – Blackwell’s five-minute veterinary
consult clinical companion. Small animal toxicology
v. SF757.5 V494x 2012 Gupta - Veterinary Toxicology Basic and Clinical
Principles (ONLY e-book)
vi. SF757.5 .O89 1996 Osweiler – Toxicology
vii. Field Manual of Wildlife diseases
http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/publications/field_manual/ (ONLY e-book)
b. There are NO REQUIRED electronic resources for this course. However, students may
find the following electronic resources useful and some professors may refer to them
during the course of their lectures:
i. TOXNET http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/
ii. ICHEM http://www.inchem.org/
iii. ASTDR http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/
iv. EPA Title 40 Part 180 http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-
idx?type=simple;c=ecfr;cc=ecfr;sid=68bbfd90131760270c6fbe2fee405ebf;idno=4
0;region=DIV1;q1=Diquat;rgn=div5;view=text;node=40%3A24.0.1.1.28
v. FARAD: http://www.farad.org/
Reading Assignments: For some classes reading assignments will be posted in advance and
are expected to be read prior to class. At the discretion of the instructor, short quizzes over the
concepts presented in the reading assignment may be given at any time during class. In some
cases the readings may reference a particular book chapter while other cases may be a PDF file
available on blackboard.
6. Available Resources
a. Instructors may provide review sessions once before each major test. This will be on an
“as needed” basis. Students will need to request review sessions. Review sessions when
given will be held in Rm 1226 at a time mutually acceptable to both instructor and
students.
b. Echo captures will generally be available on the Blackboard class site. Students can
access these 24/7 to help students to study.
c. In-depth readings and advanced topics will be assigned only to those students
taking this course as a graduate level course ie VDPAM 526. Students taking the
VDPAM 526 version of this course will also be required to write a paper on the basis of
the assigned reading. This paper will count for 20% of the final grade for VDPAM 526.
d. Students who feel that they are lagging behind may request instructors to go over the
materials to help the student understand the material better. However, because this
course currently does NOT have a teaching assistant to help with tutoring, such
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 additional help will be made by instructors. The student is responsible for reaching out to
the instructor in writing to arrange for such remedial refreshers.
e. Exams or questions known to have been given in previous years (ie. Students
copied down as many questions as they could remember after the exam) are not
acceptable study material and students should not utilize these resources in
preparing for test.
7. Tests and Grading
The course grade will be based on the following:
a. There will be one take home assignment on calculations in veterinary toxicology. This
take home will be due within 5 days. There will be approximately 5 questions worth 2
points each for a total of 10 points.
b. Three (3) exams will be given during the course as “stand alone” review of important
information. The first exam will cover approximately the first 1/3rd of lectures (75 points),
the second exam will cover approximately the second 1/3rd of materials (70 points), and
the last exam will cover approximately the last 1/3rd of lectures (60 points).
Approximately five (5) points will be allocated to each hour of lecture material. Lecturing
faculty will provide exam questions for their portion of lectures if possible. Expect that
these are entirely closed book, and may be done electronically via lockdown web
browser.
c. A total of 215 Points from a &b above will contribute towards 80% of the course.
d. A written paper by the student will contribute 20% of the course.
e. In-class random lecture quizzes designed to reinforce key learning points in some
classes will count as bonus points. All random lecture quiz points earned will be
computed to a maximum of 10 bonus points for the entire semester. These bonus
points will be added to your final per cent score (final percent from your scores in your
take home assignment, 3 exams, and one term paper), to boost your grade. For example,
from “c” above the Student X has a score of 84%. Also assume that total cumulative
lecture quiz point over the entire semester was 120 raw points. Assume student X scored
90 out of 120 total possible points. The adjusted score is (90/120)10 = 7.5 points. The
final grade of student X will be 84+7.5 = 91.5%. Thus Student X moved his/her final
grade from a B to an A from actively participating in class lecture quizzes.

You must be in class to earn bonus points from random lecture quizzes. No
retakes or “fill in” questions will be given except under unique extraordinary
circumstances which were beyond control of the student. The instructor will decide if
reasons given meet this criterion and will decide on the format of the retakes ie oral,
assay, etc.

Everyone is expected to take the exams as scheduled. Attendance to scheduled

exams is mandatory. Exceptions will only be given in the event of extreme
circumstances that were out of the control of the student. If any exceptions are given the
instructors retain the right to administer a different exam in any form, including an oral or
essay exam. Each exam has to be completed before leaving the examination room.

Point values of quizzes and exams:

Type of Activity or Exam # per semester Points each Total Points

Take Home Calculations Approximately 5 2 10

Major Exams 3 Approx. 5 points 205

/lecture (Total 41
lectures)

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 A Semester Total 215 points
(Contributing to
80%)

B Term Paper One term paper due last day of April Contributing 20%

Random lecture questions Total possible Bonus Points 10

(from all 7 modules, Bonus added to percent score from A+B above
points)

Grading Scale:

91-100 = A

89-90 = B+

81-88 = B

79-80 = C+

71-78 = C

69-70 = D+

65-68 = D

< 65 = F

Rescheduling of exams:
The lecturers in this course recognize and encourage students to participate in regional and national
meetings related to veterinary medicine (ie. AABP, AASV, ACVIM etc). Scheduling for these conferences
becomes very difficult given that we often do not know what students will be going where. Therefore, as
a class you need to notify the instructors if you have the desire to move any of the scheduled exams.
This notification needs to take place within 10 days of the start of class. If the class wishes to move
an exam, the instructors will evaluate the situation and determine what can be done to accommodate the
change. After the first 10 days of class if the class has not asked for a move the schedule will be
finalized.
9. Course Calendar

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Date: Instructor Lecture Topic Learning Activity/
# Reading/ Test or
Quiz Due:
Module 1 WKR Toxicology Fundamentals
January 1 Toxicology-Introduction, Principles,
12 M Toxicokinetics
13 T 2 General Diagnostic Procedures
15 Thu Class Dismissed- Qualifying Examinations
19 M No Class- MLK University Holiday
20 T 3 General Diagnostic Procedures
22 TH 4 General treatment Procedures

Module 2 WKR Pesticides

26 5 Rodenticides: Anticoagulants
M
27 T 6 Rodenticides: Cholecalciferol and Zinc
Phosphide
29 Th 7 Rodenticides: Strychnine, bromethalin,
metaldehyde.
Avicides: Avitrol and Starlicide
Feb 02 M 8 Insecticides: Organochlorines, pyrethroids
03 T 9 Insecticides:
Organophosphates/Carbamates/Amitraz
05 Thu 10 Insecticides: Nicotine
Insecticides: Insect growth regulators
Herbicides
Fungicides

Module 3 WKR Toxic Elements/gases

09 M 11 Lead
10 T 12 Copper, Molybdenum and Zinc
12 Th 13 Selenium, arsenic, iron
16 M 14 Mercury, Thallium, Fluoride
17 T 15 Gaseous toxicants
19Th EXAM 1 Lectures# 1-15 75 points

Module 4 SE Toxicants in Feeds

23 M 16 Overview of feed-related toxicology &Water
deprivation
24 T 17 Ionophores, Gossypol, Ractopamine
26 Th 18 Urea & NPN, Phenylarsonics
March 02 19 Biorenewable feed Co-Products and sulfur
M
03 T 20 Nitrates and cyanide
05 Th 21 Mycotoxins I
09 M 22 Mycotoxins II
10 T EB 23 Venoms and Poisons I
12 Th EB 24 Venoms and Poisons II

16 M Spring Break
17 T Spring Break
19 Th Spring Break

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Module 5 EB Biotoxins
23 M SE 25 Water Quality and pollution
24 T SE 26 Bacterial Toxicoses
26 Th 27 Toxic plants important in Small Animals
30 M 28 Toxic plants important in Large Animals I
31 T 29 Toxic plants important in Large Animals II
April 02 Th EXAM II Lectures # 16-29 70 points

Module 6 WKR Household and Commercial Toxicants

06 M 30 Ethylene glycol and methylxanthines
07 T 31 OTC analgesics and other medications
09 Th 32 Recreational and Drugs of abuse
13 M 33 Food Products and People food
14 T 34 Commercial, Home and Personal care
products
16 Th 35 Commercial, Home and Personal care
products

Module 7 Risk Analysis and overview of Common

toxicants
20 M Wolt 36 Risk Analysis in Toxicology
21 T Gwaltney 38 Environmental/Disaster Toxicology
23 Th WKR 38 Common Toxicants in dogs
27 M WKR 39 Common Toxicants in cats
28 T WKR 40 Common Toxicants in Food producing
animals
30 Th WKR 41 Common Toxicants in Wildlife

May 4th M WKR, SE EXAM III Lectures # 30-41 60 points

8. Classroom Behavior, Including Computer and IT Classroom use

The professional behavior conduct in the CVM Honor Code and ISU Policy on student classroom
disruption apply http://www.dso.iastate.edu/sa/issuesconcerns/disruption

Playing on online social websites such as Facebook, etc on computers or mobile

electronic devices is considered disruptive and is not allowed in this class.

Students are not permitted to have on their person or bring unauthorized written materials or
electronic devices of any type into the examination room during written examination without
permission of the instructor. Laptop computers are allowed only in examinations that are given
electronically using the appropriate assigned student electronic device. If a student is observed to
have an unauthorized electronic device during an examination or any unauthorized materials, the
student will be quietly asked or given a written statement to stop their examination and be
escorted from the room. At that point, the examination will be retained by the instructor or proctor.
The event will trigger a thorough investigation of a possible academic dishonesty violation.

9. Academic Dishonesty and the Honor Code

Student conduct follows Iowa State University’s policy on academic dishonesty. The
instructor/instructor-in-charge observing academic dishonesty reports the student suspected of
academic dishonesty to the CVM Office of Academic and Student Affairs Director of Student
Programs and/or Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs who reports the alleged
violation to the Dean of Students Office. The violation also is submitted to the ISU CVM Honor

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 Board. Additional campus- wide policies regarding academic misconduct are found at:
http://www.dso.iastate.edu/ja/academic/misconduct.html.
10. Disability Accommodation
Individuals with physical or mental impairments who are otherwise qualified to pursue their
studies may request reasonable accommodations to enable them to continue their studies. For
more information, see: http://www.eoc.iastate.edu/discrimination/disability. Students should
initiate requests for accommodation from the Student Disability Resources at Student Disability
Resources in the Academic Success Center. Once you have approval you should bring any
special needs or special accommodations to the attention of Dr. Rumbeiha within the first 2
weeks of class or as soon as you become aware of the needs. This meeting should be scheduled
for a time that allows us to discuss and be clear what is needed and thus should not occur as a
“casual meeting” between class periods.
11. Harassment and Discrimination
Iowa State University strives to maintain our campus as a place of work and study for faculty,
staff, and students that is free of all forms of prohibited discrimination and harassment. For more
information, or if you believe you are a victim of discrimination or harassment, please visit the
following URL for additional guidance: http://policy.iastate.edu/policy/discrimination/ .
12. Religious, Civic, and Military Accommodations
There may be times when an academic requirement conflicts with religious observances and
practices, or required civic or military duty. If that happens, students may request reasonable
accommodation of their religious practices http://www.eoc.iastate.edu/discrimination/religious
Civic http://www.dso.iastate.edu/sa/juryduty
Military http://www.veterans.iastate.edu/active-duty#leave
13. Unforeseen Circumstances and Adaptation of the Syllabus
Note: Information in the syllabus is subject to change. Changes will be announced in
class and posted on the course site on Blackboard Learn or the appropriate Learning
Management System.
14. Testing Best Practices for Students – Provided by CELT
Before Taking an On-line Test:
a. Use only supported browser versions when taking on-line tests. Supported browsers
are listed on Iowa State University’s Blackboard login page.
b. Before starting an on-line test, close all other software programs on your computer,
including the browser that you plan to use to take the test. Re-start your browser and log
in first to Blackboard without logging into any other Iowa State University sites. This will
help identify your test session in the system logs if you encounter technical issues.
c. Disable all pop-up blockers. The steps for this will vary among browsers. If you have
questions, call the Support Center to get directions on how to check your computer and
browser settings for pop-up blockers.
d. Use a hardwired connection rather than your wireless connection to the Internet to take
an online test. Make sure that when you connect your network cable to your computer
you also disable the wireless receiver so that it does not override or interfere with the
wired connection. (This is not an option for 1226 – so disregard)
e. If your computer is connected to the Internet through an ISP cable modem that is
shared among a number of users (such as at an apartment complex), you will likely
experience problems with on-line tests. Questions may be slow to display and your
connection may be lost briefly, which will cut off your test session. You should try to find a
computer for your on-line tests that is on a more stable connection.