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Abstract:
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The supervised curricular internship in Small Animal Internal Medicine was carried out at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the Federal University of Santa Maria (HVU-UFSM), from March 2 to May 29, 2026, totaling 480 hours of supervised practical activities. The aim of this report is to describe the activities performed, present the case series followed, and discuss the main conditions observed during the internship period. A total of 423 consultations and follow-up appointments were attended, involving 406 animals, of which 309 were dogs (76,11%), 92 were cats (22,66%), and five belonged to other species. The majority of patients were female (59,61%) and senior animals (36,95%). Cases were distributed across twelve clinical specialties, with oncology being the most prevalent (19,46%), followed by dermatology (17,49%) and gastroenterology and dentistry (11,58%). Among oncological conditions, mammary gland tumors were the most frequent (27,8%), followed by mast cell tumors and lymphomas (11,4% each). In dermatology, canine atopic dermatitis was the most prevalent condition (43,7%), frequently associated with secondary infections caused by Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Malassezia spp. The areas of urology and nephrology, cardiology and pulmonology, and orthopedics and neurology were also significant in the case series. The experience provided by the internship at HVU-UFSM was fundamental for consolidating clinical-diagnostic reasoning, developing practical skills, and integrating theoretical knowledge with hospital reality, confirming the importance of supervised internship as an indispensable step in veterinary training.
Keywords: casuistics; internal medicine; dermatology; oncology; small animals |
