ata2015
TRANSCRIPT
Introduction to Veterinary Translation
Lori Newman, DVM, MAChinese, French, Spanish > English
ATA MiamiNovember 5, 2015
© Lori Newman, 2015
© Gary Larson, “The Far Side”
Scenario Your top medical translation client asks you to
translate a press release about the 2015 Nobel Prize in Medicine
Of course you say, “No problem!” What was it for again?
2015 Nobel Prize Using ivermectin to treat diseases in people
caused by roundworm parasites (river blindness, elephantiasis)
Is ivermectin a fancy new drug?http://www.rxlist.com/stromectol-drug.htm
Any Dog Owners in the Room?
Ivermectin is a commonly used veterinary antiparasitic drug.
Points Human and veterinary medicine are clearly related. Knowing veterinary medicine would give you some
context for this drug and its applications. Today we will explore the relationship between
human medicine and veterinary medicine Same anatomy and physiology? Same diseases? Same drugs?
More importantly, why should you care?
Why you should care In 2012, the vaccine and drug market was worth
$8 billion for companion animals, $14 billion for livestock1
Many pharmaceutical companies have a vet division/offshootHuman pharma
companyVeterinary offshoot
Pfizer ZoetisEli Lilly ElancoSanofi Aventis MerialMerck Vet divisionBoehringer Ingelheim Vet divisionNovartis Vet divisionBayer Vet division1. http://pharma.about.com/od/Sales_and_Marketing/ss/Top-Animal-Health-Drug-Companies.htm
Why else you should care Translation opportunities:
Pharmaceutical documents e.g., drug inserts
Clinical study materials Regulatory documents
e.g., FDA new animal drug applications Interconnections between human and animal health
Many diseases travel between species and many of the same drugs are used Veterinary background helps in translating human medical
documents and vice versa Even if you focus solely on human medicine, experimental
animal models lead to better treatment for human diseases Translating animal studies can help inform human medical
research
Outline Introduction to veterinary medicine in
comparison to human medicine Terminology differences Similarities/differences in anatomy, physiology,
and pathophysiology Limiting discussion to companion animals (dogs,
cats)
Conceptual and terminological challenges illustrated by sample passages
Differences between human and vetmed
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/7b/a8/17/7ba8175d9dde557d41df45892b584fab.jpg
http://mydrawingcourse.com/tag/dog-anatomy/
Hey, it’s no skin off my back. This is a lot to digest!
Especially with no intestines.
Terminology differences Descriptive anatomy terms
Anterior/Posterior (Human) = Cranial/Caudal (Veterinary)
Superior/Inferior (Human) = Dorsal/Ventral (Veterinary)
Terminology differences Limb descriptions
Arm = Thoracic/forelimb Leg = Pelvic/hindlimb
Symptoms vs. clinical signs Symptom: subjective experience of disease reported by
the patient Ex: fatigue
Sign: objective evidence of disease observed by the physician Ex: high blood pressure
Autopsy vs. necropsy
Crash course: Anatomy Skeleton
Lots of analogous bones and muscles Cats have about 230 bones (humans have 206) Dogs have over 300!
Similar bones in a different orientation Ex: Dog/cat pelvis has same general shape as human
pelvis but is rotated
Skeletal differences Caudal vertebrae (a.k.a. “tail bones”) vs. human
coccyx (a few fused vertebrae)
Fun fact: All vertebrates have 7 cervical (neck) vertebrae – even giraffes
Skeletal Differences
Other anatomic differences
Eye, mouth, skin structures Pupils shapes vary by species Dog and cat eyes have
tapetum lucidum Vomeronasal organ (for sensing
pheromones) found only in animals Different thermoregulation mechanisms,
e.g., sweat gland distribution Numbers of teeth and
dentition patterns vary by species Usually a function of diet
Can haz brains?!
www.reddit.com
Crash course: Physiology Body temperatures and heart rates (HR)
Higher in animals than humans Smaller animal = higher HR
Hummingbird HR up to 1200 bpm!
Gestation periods much shorter in companion animals Only about 3 months in dogs/cats
Comparable CBC and chemistry parameters Ex: WBC, RBC, platelets, enzymes, electrolytes
Pathophysiology Do humans and animals get the same diseases?
Comparison of principal diseases
Human VeterinaryCardiovascular Degenerative valve
disease, heart failure, hypertension, myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, COPD
Degenerative valve disease, heart failure, cardiomyopathy
Neurologic Intervertebral disc disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s
Intervertebral disc disease, stroke, cognitive dysfunction
Endocrine Diabetes, obesity, hypo-/hyperthyroidism, hypo-/hyperadrenocorticism
Diabetes, obesity, hypo-/hyperthyroidism, hypo-/hyperadrenocorticism
Renal/Urinary Chronic kidney disease Chronic kidney disease
Cancer Various VariousTrauma Injury, suicide, violent
crimeInjury
Degenerative Arthritis ArthritisInfectious Viruses, bacteria Viruses, bacteria, parasites
What separates us from the animals?
Lifestyle Animals do not smoke
or drink alcohol Animals do not
generally consume enough salt to increase blood pressure or enough cholesterol to block arteries
Animals *may* get more exercise than people Animals do not generally injure each other with
weapons or commit suicide
http://mentalfloss.com/article/64108/15-things-you-should-know-about-dogs-playing-poker
What separates us from the animals?
Etiology Hard to appreciate neurodegenerative diseases like
Alzheimer’s in animals However, canine cognitive dysfunction does exist
Treated with Parkinson’s drug Cats are always cognitively dysfunctional
Important infectious agents vary by species Parasitic diseases (e.g., worms) more significant in
animals than humans (in the developed world) Some viruses and bacteria infect only one/a few
species But many infectious agents are common to both
animals and humans
Zoonoses Diseases transmissible from animals to humans
Rabies Toxoplasmosis Leptospirosis
Some are vector-borne: Lyme (ticks) West Nile Virus (mosquitoes)
About 60% of infectious diseases are zoonotic!1
www.sciencetoystore.com
1. www.cdc.gov/onehealth/zoonotic-diseases.html
“One Health” Principle of linkage between
human health and health of animals and environment
Public health efforts must encompass all 3 domains to be effective
Importance of One Health: Some pathogens may evolve from animal populations to become pandemic threats Ex.: avian influenza (H5N1)
Zoonotic; concern that virus would become capable of human-human transmission
www.wifss.ucdavis.edu
Veterinary translation challenges
Conceptual Terminological
Example 1: Endocrinology text
From a text on Cushing’s disease in horses: French = “Les tumeurs hypophysaires du cheval
surviennent generalement dans la pars intermedia.”1
English = “Hypophyseal tumors in horses generally arise in the pars intermedia.”
1. www.medvet.umontreal.ca/pdf/pathologie_endocrinien_2220_janvier_2004.pdf
Example 1: Medical Terminology
“Hypophyseal tumors in horses generally arise in the pars intermedia.” “Hypophyseal” = pertaining to the anterior pituitary gland
Anterior pituitary has pars tuberalis, distalis, and intermedia
http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/esp/2001_saladin/folder_structure/in/m5/s3/
Example 1: Concepts Anterior pituitary differences between species
pars intermedia Insignificant in humans Source of tumors that cause Cushing’s disease (a.k.a,
“Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction”) in horses!
Lots of interspecies variation in pituitary gland structure Fun fact: sharks have an extra lobe under the
anterior pituitary
Example 2: Background Knee ligament injuries
Humans: Anterior cruciate ligament rupture Usually due to acute injury Standard treatment is grafting
an autologous replacement ligament Dogs: Cranial cruciate
ligament rupture Usually due to chronic degeneration Standard treatment in dogs is a surgery called a TPLO
Tibia is cut and plated to change the angle of knee articulation)
www.nationalsportsmed.com
Example 2: Orthopedic text
From a website on ligament repair surgery in dogs:
French = “Une partie du tibia va être sectionnée et repositionnée à l’aide de plaques et de vis dans une orientation légèrement différente…pour éliminer la tension à laquelle est habituellement soumis le ligament croisé crânial lorsque l’animal prend appui sur son membre postérieur.”1
English = “Part of the tibia is sectioned and repositioned in a slightly different orientation using plates and screws…to eliminate the tension to which the cranial cruciate ligament is normally subjected when the animal places weight on the hindlimb.”
1. www.cliniqueveterinaireladeveze.com/article-veterinaire-64-5-la-rupture-du-ligament-croise-cranial
Which is the human and which is the dog?
“Part of the tibia is sectioned and repositioned in a slightly different orientation using plates and screws…”
http://drbenjamino.com/category/tplo/http://www.healthpages.org/surgical-care/erior-cruciate-ligament-acl-repair-surgery/
Example 2: Concept and Terminology
Concept: Totally different surgical approaches between
species Cutting and plating the tibia vs. replacing the
ligament
Terminology: Cranial (NOT “anterior”) cruciate ligament Pelvic/hind (NOT “lower/inferior”) limb
Example 3: Fun (and educational)
Imagine you are translating a veterinary text that refers to the nuclei of ordinary red blood cells on a blood smear
Any serious medical translator knows normal red blood cells don’t have nuclei!
Or do they?
Is this text about:A. A humanB. A catC. A birdD. A horseE. None of the above
Key points Clinical research, regulatory documents, and veterinary
pharmaceutical documents are important sources of translation opportunities
Human pharma companies often have veterinary counterparts Many differences across the animal kingdom, but many
common aspects of anatomy, physiology, diseases, and medications as well
Zoonoses are a good example of the interconnections between human and animal health, a.k.a., “One Health”
Knowing veterinary medicine can help a translator tackle human medical texts and vice versa But be aware of the differences
Useful Resources in Veterinary Medicine
www.avma.org American Veterinary Medical Association: Professional association for veterinarians
www.merckvetmanual.com Merck Veterinary Manual: Wonderful textbook for all things veterinary, including
companion animals and livestock www.eclinpath.com
Cornell’s great resource on veterinary clinical pathology (medical tests, CBC and chemistry basics)
https://www.plumbsveterinarydrugs.com Veterinary drug bible; available in hard copy
www.news.vin.com The most complete veterinary news service I have seen (VIN = Veterinary
Information Network) www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/default.htm
FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine: Great regulatory information, consumer resources
Questions?Lori Newman, DVM, MA
Chinese, French, Spanish > English translation and editing
Thanks to ATA mentor Erin Lyons.Thank you for your attention!