* Note: This session is open to veterinarians, students, and staff who'd like to review the basics of small animal kidney disease.

Use the Rounds link in the Main Navigation bar to join the discussions. To find out what other interesting rounds topics are coming soon, see This Week's Rounds Schedule.

NEWS THAT'S FIT TO CLICK and discuss
News reported for YOU...

• Economic downturn hits veterinary practices
  - VNS Report | Discussion
• Merck buys Schering-Plough
  - VNS Report | Discussion
• EPA scales back waste disposal survey
  - VNS Report | Discussion

Be a VIN Newshound:
VNS is here to give YOU a voice and report news that is important to YOU. Got an idea for a story? Have a story that needs covering? Post it on the boards or email News@vin.com .

VIN News Service Needs Your Feedback

Share News with nonVINners -- The VIN News Service (without access to the community discussions) is now publicly available at news.vin.com. Check it out and share it.

Feline Demodicosis Survey Results
Last month, VIN Consultant Kathy Tater asked VINners to participate in a "Name-that-mite" feline Demodex survey. Take a look at the results and find out if you guessed right or wrong!

Share your thoughts in the VIN message board discussion, even if you didn't participate in the original survey.

If you participated in another survey and haven't seen the results, check the Surveys and Clinical Research page in the VIN Library.

NEW! The VIN clinical research team would also love for you to take this canine lymphoma survey :
- This survey will help us prepare for a possible VIN-hosted on-line clinical trial of lymphoma therapy.

MyStuff-Your Online Filing Cabinet!
We've all been there... after a bit of tinkering, your VIN Database Search produced just what you wanted to know now -- and likely will want to know, again, in the future.

Keep your results at your fingertips -- when you search the VIN database, you'll notice the "Add to MyStuff" link associated with each search result. If you look at the top of your search result list, you'll notice the "Add Search Results to MyStuff" link that lets you save the entire list of search results. Use MyVIN > MyStuff to find your saved results later.

Are you a power VINner who refines your searches by selecting (clicking the check boxes) the best of the best from your Search results and displaying them as a custom Search result (Display Checked)? You too can stash your gold by choosing "Add Checked Results to MyStuff".

Almost every information-packed page on VIN is MyStuff enabled - just click the RED HEART on the page or choose Save to MyStuff and you are on your way.

• Do a Search; save the results.
• Want to go back later and review something you found browsing the Library? Store the link in MyStuff.
• Find a favorite page in Associate; save the link.
• Create your own categories and subcategories to help you stay organized.

You are not limited to VIN Content! ANY internet page can be stored and categorized within MyStuff.

Imagine the power of having all of your favorite links available to you on any computer you use -- home or office or even on a friend's computer.

MyStuff is easy to use. For external links, just copy and paste the URL for the page you want to save. To retrieve your MyStuff, click MyVIN on the VIN navigation bar - your MyStuff is there waiting for you from any computer, anywhere in the world.

New in VeterinaryPartner:

• Feline Mysteries
• Housesoiling
• Pregnancy Termination revised
• Hydrocodone Bitartrate (Hycodan, Tussigon, Mycodone) revised

Texas Farm Radio

• Clenbuterol in Performance Horses

Mark Your Calendar...

...to attend the 34th Annual World Small Animal Veterinary Association Congress, July 21-24 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The WSAVA 2009 Congress will be hosted by the Association of Small Animals Veterinarians of Brazil (ANCLIVEPA Brazil) with lectures in Portuguese, English and Spanish.

Check out the WSAVA 2008 proceedings!

Canine uroliths: frequently asked questions and their answers
This article includes photographs of various stones and a checklist of factors that suggest the probable mineral composition of canine uroliths.

Paradigm changes in the role of nutrition for the management of canine and feline urolithiasis
For therapy to be most effective, it must promote undersaturation of urine with lithogenic crystalloids by increasing the urine solubility of crystalloids, increasing the volume of urine in which crystalloids are dissolved or suspended, and reducing the quantities of lithogenic crystalloids in urine.

Superovulation and embryo transfer in Holstein cattle using sexed sperm
The use of sexed bull sperm in multiple ovulation and embryo transfer (MOET) programs for Holsteins was evaluated for (1) heifers housed at a commercial embryo transfer (ET) facility (Experiments 1 and 2), and (2) heifers and cows on dairy farms (Experiment 3).

Understanding E. cuniculi
Bottom line, I am not convinced that EC causes any vestibular disease in rabbits that they will in fact recover from. I am not entirely sure I believe that EC plays a role in malaise that may be associated with vestibular disease but if it does, I suspect it is just a bystander that makes a sick rabbit feel sicker... this can explain the subjective clinical improvment noted by owners .... but again I am not sure I buy into this concept at all.

Emailing newsletters to clients
Using our email account, we are limited to sending out only 20 per hour or so, which takes a long time. We also get many bounced back because of the recipient's spam filter. I have checked into Constantcontact.com and related sites, but it appears you can only make a newsletter using their templates (which is the same for Pet Portals).How can we easily send out 900 newsletters to our client data base?

Pneumothorax in a dog: next steps
I might add that you really can not do an ultrasound guided aspirate of pneumothorax, as you can see only the surface of the air. Since you cannot see the needle in the air, it is not really ultrasound guided.

Dog with large wound and exposed bone: closing the defect
I'm afraid that exposed bone will need to be addressed. The easiest thing to do is to use a pin or small drill bit to make a few scattered monocortical holes. This will allow for granulation tissue to sprout from the holes, to fill the wound and aid in healing.

Virtual Coffeehouse
Tuesday, March 17, 9:30 p.m. EDT
(Wednesday, March 18, 1:30 a.m. GMT/UTC)
Stop by and chat with your fellow VIN addicts!

How To Use VIN: Part 3
Wednesday, March 18, 9:30 p.m. EDT
(Thursday, March 19, 1:30 a.m. GMT/UTC)
Learn how to use VIN like a pro!
Email Nate@VIN.com for more information about this free, three-session course.

This Week's Rounds Schedule
Use the Rounds link to join these discussions.

Want to See What You've Been Missing?
Click the Rounds button on VIN's main navigation bar and read the transcripts of the last few Rounds, click the complete list of Rounds to get to the list of the last 300 Rounds transcripts or click on Rounds and Discussions in the VIN Library.

Rounds are also searchable via the Search button. Just remember to choose Rounds (under the Clinical Resources tab) as the "Source" in your search parameters.

For All You Multi-Taskers:
Download VINCasts to your MP3 player and listen to previous Rounds sessions while you run errands, exercise or steal a few minutes of me-time.

Recent Rounds
@ = VINCast available for this session

• Dermatology Updates
• Feline Acromegaly (Part 2) @
• Alternative Medicine @
• Chest Tubes @
• Feline Diabetic Ketoacidosis Case
• Diagnosing And Treating Feline IBD @

Member Benefit:
Group Membership Discounts
Colleagues, working in the same practice, qualify for group membership rates. If more than one member of your practice is using a single VIN login, you and your colleagues should each have your own login and be billed as a group membership.
Questions? Contact membership services at vingram@vin.com, see this helpful FAQ or call membership services at 1-800-700-4636 (toll free) or 1-530-756-4881 (local).

Get More From VIN!
Search Tip:
Increase the likelihood of your search returning the results you want by using PHRASES rather than SINGLE WORDS when you search:
- Enter HEARTWORM ANTIGEN TESTS, not just HEARTWORM, if that's what you really want to search.
- General terms like KIDNEY can sometimes be useful, but a more specific descriptor such as RENAL FAILURE or KIDNEY FAILURE is often more helpful.
For more help and tips on searching, see Steps To A More Effective Search.

Funny Bones:
Please cut open her throat...!
Well, as you know from 24, you can give IC epi to anybody who has died of anything, and they will come back from the dead long enough to tell Jack what he wants to know.

What's Your Diagnosis?
Archives of the Challenging and Fun Cases
* Zoonosis Fun 7
* Zoonosis Fun 8
* Ophthalmology Fun 77

Book Review of the Week
BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Advanced Veterinary Nursing, Second Edition
Purchase it in the VIN Bookstore!

Website of the Week
Minimizing Losses In Hay Storage And Feeding and more...

Associate - Updated and New:
Muzzle Folliculitis and Furunculosis in Dogs
Explore the rest of Associate!

Upcoming Conferences
Looking to attend or contribute a paper to a veterinary conference? Check out the On The Road With VIN folder, or the Press Releases folder, to see what conferences are coming up and to visit their Web sites! Links to information about upcoming conferences include: EAAV, SAVMA, BSAVA, NAVDF, ABVP, Voorjaarsdagen and CVC East.

NOW OPEN FOR ENROLLMENT!
Click on the links below to see the details, register and find more upcoming CE.
Veterinary Dental Techniques Module 2
April 20 - May 18, 2009

The second module of the series will discuss how to take and interpret dental radiographs and prevention and treatment of periodontal disease by prophylaxis.

Veterinary Dental Techniques Module 3
May 18 - June 22, 2009

The third module will focus on the treatment of periodontal disease by therapy and surgery, and simple and surgical extractions.

Veterinary Dental Techniques Module 4
July 6 - August 10, 2009

The fourth module will focus on the treatment and restoration of broken teeth.

Veterinary Dental Techniques Module 5
August 17 - September 14, 2009

The fifth module will be devoted to the treatment of orthodontic malocclusions and fractures of the maxilla and mandible.

Veterinary Dental Techniques Module 6
September 14 - October 5, 2009

The sixth module discusses anesthesia, both local and general, pre-, intra- and post-operative pain management. The last portion is devoted to health, safety and ergonomics of veterinary dentistry and designing the dental suite.

For information on other CE courses, check out the Course Catalog on the CE Main Page.

Please visit How-To's Of Online CE for details about how to register and participate in online CE courses.

If you're looking for more information on CE opportunities for veterinary technicians, receptionists or practice managers, please visit the VSPN CE page. VSPN offers courses specifically tailored to veterinary support personnel, and certain VIN courses also are open to VPSN members.