How many times have you been in a situation when you need quick info and revise stuff that seems to have faded away? That is why it is key to read our article on the best veterinary books and study material.
As vast as the learning material when studying veterinary medicine gets, it’s always a good idea to have a couple of guidance veterinary books stored in your private practice and use them from time to time.
Of course, we shouldn’t even mention the necessity for quality books for students. Therefore we made a list of the best study material relevant to the field of veterinary medicine. The veterinary books and study material are up-to-date and available on the market, so let’s check them out! If you are a vet tech, you might find the list of Vet Tech Books helpful.
Merck’s Veterinary Manual 11th edition
The 11th edition of probably one of the most famous veterinary books in the world was released in the middle of 2016. After many satisfied customers over the years the publisher keeps on updating the content of the manual. No veterinary book review can pass without The Merck’s Veterinary Manual.
It’s a great supporting handbook for every veterinarian that works both with companion and farm animals. The MVM manual covers all diseases of every domestic species all over the world. The book has a two-column format, colorful imaging, and many comparative tables. The newest edition offers a better glimpse at aquaculture topics, zoonoses, and public health, backyard poultry, etc.
Most complaints about the 11th edition of MVM are regarding the fragile and thin pages. The pages are so thin and transparent that you can almost see through them. Maybe that’s because the manual carries over 3000 pages of information, but the breakable aspect is a thing that keeps bothering the buyers.
Buyer’s information
The book has 3325 English written pages. The dimensions of MVM are 5.4×2.7×8.5 inches and it weighs 3.6 pounds. It’s available both in printed and digital format. The hardcover version can be bought on Amazon.
The Merck’s Veterinary Manual has a stable fan base and tradition with constant updates following the professional trends in veterinary medicine. It’s always a good idea to have it stored in your clinic’s library for quick revision of things you might have forgotten.
Textbook of Veterinary Anatomy, 4e 4th Edition
The textbook covers the main and basic aspects of veterinary anatomy for specific animal species such as cows, pigs, sheep, horses, goats, birds and of course, dogs and cats. For the first time, the publisher provided a full-color version with images of anatomic concepts and dissection procedures.
While the essential character of the textbook is mostly used by veterinary students, it’s also useful for repeating the basics for anyone working in the field.
Since the book covers basic anatomy aspects of more than one species, it won’t come in handy for professionals that want to specialize in a single one. The part about the muscular-skeletal system lack few components (ex. Muscle origins). The digital e-book is badly formatted with some diagrams missing and some not aligned properly.
Buyer’s information
The Textbook of Veterinary Anatomy published in 2009 has 864 full-color pages. It weighs 5.2 pounds and the dimensions are 1.5x9x11.2 inches. It’s available in hardcover printed version and digital e-book.
At some vet schools the textbook is mandatory for classes so we can easily say that it is primarily intended for vets-to-be, but equally useful for anyone lacking basic information about mammal anatomy.
Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary, 4e 4th Edition
The 4th edition of SCVD offers more than 60.000 entries and sub-entries and represents one of the most comprehensive dictionaries in the field of veterinary books. This time the publisher provided pronunciation of the key terms and over 1000 full-color illustrations.
It can be used by every veterinary team in need of a quick glance at up-to-date practice entries, as well as by veterinary students.
Our thoughts on how this book could have been a lot better are regarding the softback cover. Such a large book must be made with a hardback cover for easier manipulations. Another bad aspect is the searching option in the digital format of the book.
When searching for a word the program takes you to every instance where the word is mentioned, and not where the exact definition for it is written.
Buyer’s information
The Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary was released in 2012 by Saunders Ltd. It has 1344 pages, 6.6 pounds, and 2×8.8×11 inches in product dimensions.
You can purchase a second-hand version and a new one. The publisher also offers free e-version for anyone interested.
Veterinary Anatomy Flash Cards, 2e 2nd Edition
- Studdert BSc DVM Hon DVSc, Virginia P. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 1344 Pages – 01/06/2012 (Publication Date) – Saunders Ltd. (Publisher)
This is not your every-day study material but sure comes useful when mastering veterinary anatomy and comparing different species. Primarily the flashcards are intended for veterinary students.
The deck has 400 cards and 490 full-color illustrations. The front side has the picture and numbers on different anatomical parts and on the backside, the exact terms are numerically aligned. Besides ruminants, pigs, horses, dogs, cats, and birds, the second edition has a little surprise keeping you up with exotic animals’ anatomy.
Since this isn’t a book it’s harder to get into the card game if you do not have any pre-knowledge of veterinary anatomy. Even though the cards may come useful, advanced professionals prefer detailed veterinary books for vet anatomy.
Buyer’s information
The cards’ dimensions are 4.5x5x7 inches, weighing 4 pounds you can have them today. The digital book is approximately the same price as the printed version.
Plumb’s Veterinary Drug Handbook (Desk) 9th Edition
We recall people calling the Plumb’s Veterinary Drug Handbook ‘the bible of veterinary drugs’ and a must-have for any vet practice. Probably they are right because after 9 editions this still is the most frequently used drug handbook in the veterinary profession.
The 9th edition features 16 new drugs, dosages for easier decision making for a wide range of species, including dogs, cats, exotic animals, and farm animals and an update on existing monographs. Interesting additions are parts about potentially toxic compounds and dog multi-drug sensitivity.
We weren’t able to find any serious disadvantages of this book. Like some other vet e-books, there is an issue when searching for specific terms where the program gives you all mentioned in the book, not only the main part about it.
Buyer’s information
The 1456 pages, 2018 printed Plumb’s Veterinary Drug Handbook can be yours today if you are purchasing the 8.5×11 inch, 5.7 pounds version. The pocket version is 5×8 inches.
NAVLE Flashcard Study system
NAVLE Test Practice Questions & Exam Review for the North American Licensing Examination (Cards) 1 Flc CRDS Edition
The main use of the flashcards is to prepare future veterinarians in North America for the licensing examination. Generally, you keep your motivation on and get ready for the critical concepts through continued repetition of the questions and answers featured on the cards.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that a lack of knowledge can be substituted with a quick revision of the cards right before the licensing examination.
We encountered few situations where the answers don’t really rely on the questions and vise-verse. Also, the information seems to get too detailed at times and there is a lack of logic. Some people have complained that there is a big resemblance to the NAVLE study secrets edition and that some sections are copy-pasted.
Buyer’s information
The product has 595 pages with dimensions of 1×8.8×11.2 inches. You can have the cards as second hand or digital version.
VTNE Flashcard Study System
VTNE Test Practice Questions & Answers for the Veterinary Technician National Exam (Cards) Cards
If you read the info about the previous product, you probably have an idea about this one also. Basically, they are the same type of study material,with this one being intended for soon to be veterinary technicians taking the national exam.
The answers in the cards, even though informative, are too long and detailed so instead, you can really use proper veterinary books for studying.
Buyer’s information
The product contains 643 pages; the dimensions are 11×8.5×1 inches. The digital version is a bit more expensive.
We made sure to cover what we thought are the most useful and frequently used veterinary books and study materials. Hope you found this article helpful if you were unsure whether to get a copy of some of the veterinary books mentioned or not.
Make sure to check our blog Most needed veterinary equipment!
