Through the efforts of many veterinarians, breeding soundness examination of bulls has emerged as an important tool to improve the reproductive efficiency of cattle. Breeding soundness examinations of bulls will enjoy even greater acceptance in the future as the cattle industry becomes more efficient. Management of bull selection, and evaluation of the bull's performance are important aspects of beef improvement. Breeding soundness examinations can be used as a diagnostic aid in herd fertility problems. For example, if bulls in a problem breeding herd are satisfactory potential breeders one needs to look for an infectious disease, cow infertility, nutritional deficiencies or other condition as the cause of infertility. It should be noted that the breeding soundness exam does not reflect the bull's past soundness, nor does it define the bull's ability in the future, but it does allow one to make a prognosis of future fertility.

Endodontics is a division of veterinary dentistry that deals with pathologic conditions of the tooth pulp. Endodontic disease occurs whenever viable pump tissue is exposed and becomes infected. It is a common sequela to tooth fractures, and occurs less frequently following dental decay and severe periodontal disease. It is the second most common disease in the oral cavity of companion animals.

This article contains news pertaining to the students and faculty of the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Idiopathic hepatic lipidosis (IHL) of cats is a disease causing severe liver dysfunction; cats afflicted with the disease have a guarded to poor prognosis for recovery. Hepatic lipidosis or fatty liver also occurs in most domestic species including the dog, the chicken, and ruminants. A variety of etiologies for hepatic lipidosis are known and may be classified as either metabolic, nutritional, toxic or hypoxic conditions. The cause of IHL is unknown.

The Cornell University ruminant physiologist Peter J. Van Soest has stated "As a result of evolution, ruminants have probably adapted to efficient gluconeogenesis, while the lower digestive tract has adapted to the lack of sugar and starch. The true diet of the ruminant is not what it eats, but rather, the combination of fermentation products and fermented feed that escapes from the rumen. The net changes in the ingested feed include conversion of dietary protein and nitrogen into microbial protein, and conversion of carbohydrate into a variety of non-carbohydrate products."