Animal Pathologist

Veterinary pathologists are scientific leaders making important human and animal medical discoveries that have a far reaching impact on our world. Pathologists interpret results from specialized medical tests in order to make a diagnosis. A pathologist may help to determine the cause of death of animal or work with animals that are alive. Their job often involves a lot of detective work, figuring out what is wrong with an animal, why it died, and what can be done to prevent others from dying. Most of their work is done in an agricultural setting, caring for animals bred for specific purposes, such as cattle and chickens. They work closely with the veterinarian to diagnose an illness so that the vet can recover the animal’s health.

Pathologists may deal with diseases ranging from cancer to bacterial and viral infections. Career opportunities are available in animal diagnostics, teaching and research, the pharmaceutical industry, and wildlife and environmental conservation. They may work in specific areas such as forensic pathology, neuropathology, immunopathology, or medical microbiology. Veterinary pathologists make diagnoses and decisions that impact captive animals, wild animal populations and humans. They must scrutinize every clue from an individual or group of animals to determine the cause of the disease.