College of Veterinary Medicine was established in 1955 as the first College in Iraq at University of Baghdad
The College of Veterinary Medicine is a highly regarded educational, research, and advisory institution focusing on education, community service, and animal wealth development. It graduates students with a veterinary medical scientific culture to effectively practice their profession and be responsible for conserving and developing animal wealth and innovation in veterinary medicine. The College was established in 1955 in Iraq; Dr Sadiq Al-Khayat was the first dean.
The College has a scientific curriculum and conducts veterinary medical research to protect and develop animal wealth, which has great economic importance. Many of the faculty members were from different countries. In 1970, the College moved to its current location in the Al-Ameriya suburb, which covers an area of 159.2 dunams and includes laboratories, classrooms, internal departments, sports fields, a student club, and a veterinary hospital. Departments of veterinary medicine include:
- Internal and preventive medicine is a significant aspect of veterinary medicine that focuses on disease diagnosis, treatment, management, and control. Its main objective is to equip students with the necessary clinical, diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive skills to work in the veterinary medicine profession and combat infectious diseases. The branch offers access to diagnostic laboratories and postgraduate study laboratories.
- The branch of surgery and obstetrics is one of the important clinical branches that provides the community with skilled veterinarians in the fields of veterinary surgery, reproductive and obstetric diseases, and the use of devices and radiology in specialized laboratories for the revival and preservation of animal wealth. This branch includes laboratories for anesthesia, radiology, large animal surgery, equine laboratory, small animal surgery, laparoscopic surgery, tissue culture, and cell isolation.
- The branch of physiology, Biochemistry and pharmacology is one of the important branches in the field of veterinary medical treatments, toxins, and animal wealth preservation. It includes sub-branches of physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, and general chemistry. This branch includes a general chemistry laboratory for primary studies, biochemistry laboratories for primary and postgraduate studies, a physiology laboratory, a pharmacology laboratory, and a toxicology laboratory.
- The branch of anatomy and histology is one of the first scientific branches that was established since the founding of the College, and aims to teach gross and microscopic anatomy of the animal body parts and compare between different animals, in addition to the development of organs during the embryonic period of the animal. The branch includes sub-branches of anatomy, histology, and embryology, and teaching is based on real cadavers, plastic models, and audio-visual aids. The branch contains laboratories for postgraduate studies, chemicals, and histology laboratories for students, a laboratory for laboratory animals, and an imaging unit equipped with cameras and computers for imaging tissue slides.
- The branch of microbiology is one of the most important branches that deals with the diagnosis of pathological microorganisms that infect animals, how to identify and treat them based on their microscopic characteristics and disease-causing ability, as well as knowledge of how to prevent them and methods of sterilization. It also includes the study of immune responses, immunological diseasesand disorders, immunodiagnosis, and vaccine preparation. Additionally, the branch covers diseases that are common to both animals and humans. It includes several sections, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and immunity. The branch comprises several laboratories, including bacteriology, virology, mycology, immunology, postgraduate study laboratory, and agricultural media and life sciences laboratory.
- The branch of parasitology is considered one of the important branches that specialize in studying parasites that affect animals such as worms, veterinary medical insects, veterinary mites, clinical parasites, and their impact on the lives of humans and animals, as well as epidemic diseases, diagnostic methods, control, and treatment. The branch includes a laboratory for preliminary studies, a laboratory for advanced studies, and has a section for mites and a section for veterinary medical insects.
- The branch of animal diseases and poultry diseases was established with the founding of the College, and it is concerned with teaching the subject of diseases in animals by studying the visible and tissue changes of many bacterial and viral diseases that affect various tissues such as the liver, spleen, lungs, and reproductive organs of livestock, sheep, and field animals, in addition to poultry and fish diseases. The branch aims to develop interest in animal wealth and includes a department for cancer diseases, an immunological diseases unit, and a cellular genetics unit. It contains laboratories for preliminary and advanced studies, as well as a section for poultry and fish diseases, which is responsible for breeding and managing fish farms. The section has ideal terrestrial tanks for fish farming on the college site, diagnosing fish and poultry diseases, vaccinations, providing veterinary medical consultations to breeders,and coordinating with related ministries such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment, and Water Resources. The branch also has diagnostic laboratories for the consulting clinic.
- The branch of public veterinary health is one of the specialized branches concerned with veterinary health, and collaborates with other ministries such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Health, and supports the private sector. It plays an important role in controlling animal diseases, preserving animal wealth, and controlling animal diseases that spread from neighboring countries across borders through border quarantine stations. It also examines food entering the country through land, sea, and air routes. In addition, it trains veterinary graduatesto work in slaughterhouses, milk processing plants, milk collection centers, poultry fields, and calf fattening. It also improves animal health and productivity, and includes the branches of nutrition laboratory, meat health, milk health, animal management, and laboratory.
- Zoonotic Unit was established in 1997 as an extension of the Arab zoonotic Conference held in Baghdad. Following its recommendations, the ministry approved the establishment of postgraduate studies in zoonotic specialization in 1999. This unit works on investigating the most important zoonotic diseases between humans and animals through research on diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans through direct and indirect methods. The unit includes a bacterial research laboratory for zoonotic diseases, a bacterial zoonotic diseases research laboratory, a fungal zoonotic diseases research laboratory, a parasitic joint diseases research laboratory, an immunity laboratory, and a laboratory for postgraduate students.”