About the Department

The basic mission of the Department of Production Animal Medicine is to train veterinary surgeons and to conduct research on animals. The Department’s teachers also serve as experts in various contexts.

Clinical work and teaching take place in close cooperation with the Production Animal Hospital. Veterinary surgeons at the Production Animal Hospital are responsible for fee-based services and instruct veterinary students. The Department’s veterinarians participate in clinical work as well, but their teaching duties include a wider range of activities, such as lectures, laboratory exercises, demonstrations and practical exercises.

Besides basic instruction, the Department also provides specialist training: students specialising in production animals and veterinarians specialising in horses complete a month-long traineeship in equine reproduction. In addition to providing national specialist training, the Department is entitled to grant veterinarians the status of CVS Diplomate in animal reproduction and in pig and cattle diseases. An important task of the Department is the supervision of doctoral students. Continuing education is another major concern of the Department and the veterinary diploma in production animal medicine has been developed for this purpose.

The Department’s research approach is clinical and aims to promote the health and welfare of domestic animals. The primary focus is on cattle, pigs, horses, sheep, reindeer and poultry. Research concentrates on inflammatory diseases and the system’s responses to them, as well as reproduction, ethology and the impact of the production environment on animal welfare.

Research, teaching and fee-based services are supported by two laboratories: one in Saari and another in the Clinicum building on the Viikki Campus. Each laboratory employs two departmental research technicians.