Date on Honors Thesis

4-23-2024

Major

Pre-Veterinary Medicine

Minor

Chemistry

Examining Committee Member

Dr. Laura Ken Hoffman, Advisor

Examining Committee Member

Dr. Brittany Kirby, Committee Member

Examining Committee Member

Ms. Dean Ann Provine, Committee Member

Abstract/Description

Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome (SARDS) is a perplexing and debilitating ocular condition that affects canine patients primarily in the form of the sudden onset of total vision loss. Veterinary literature will be reviewed to discuss the basic anatomy of the canine eye and retina, as well as to investigate various diagnostic techniques to evaluate ophthalmic function and hypotheses of the pathogenesis of SARDS. The complexity of this disease and the absence of research leads to veterinarians and clients grappling with unanswered questions. This research surveys veterinarians to gain a perspective of the rareness of the disease, the most frequent symptoms potential SARDS patients present with, their deductive reasoning in which diagnostic testing to perform, and the difficulties encountered when communicating a SARDS diagnosis to clients.

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