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Developing International Linkages in Veterinary Medicine: Madagascar and Romania

Cover image of Comparative Anatomy (domestic mammals, birds, humans) and Notions of Animal Physiology, by Gheorghe M. Constantinescu and Radu Palicica (Timisoara, Romania, 2006). Image courtesy of G. Constantinescu.

 In the Summer of 2006, Gheorghe M.
  Constantinescu, a medical illustrator and
  Professor of Veterinary Anatomy in the
  Department of Biomedical Sciences at MU, was
  invited by the Dean of the newly formed College
  of Veterinary Medicine at the University of
  Antananarivo, Madagascar, to present lectures
  in veterinary anatomy to 2nd and 3rd year
  veterinary students. Professor Constantinescu's
  lectures were delivered in French which, despite
  being replaced by Malagasy as the sole official
  language, remains in use at the university level
  in this former French colony. Constantinescu
  focused on the respiratory system and
  Syndesmology (study of the joints and
  ligaments), observing that the students were
  most interested when his presentations were
  supplemented by clinical correlations. He also
  engaged in wide-ranging discussions with the faculty
  at Antananarivo, with regard to subjects as diverse
  as dissection and starting a museum of anatomy. He
  also met with the President of the university. The trip   was financed by MU's College of Veterinary Medicine,
  whose commitment to the University of Antananarivo included sending faculty to teach and helping to organize the lecture schedule, with additional support for airfare from the Saint Louis Zoo.

Reflecting on his outreach work in Madagascar, Professor Constantinescu says that, although both his parents spoke French, "Teaching for the first time in my life in French was a challenge. The French that I acquired in school and at home paid off and helped me in performing my misson. As such, I strongly support the efforts of MU to internationalize the university and to encourage students to learn a second language."

Professor Constantinescu's work has also resulted in a new development in the decade-long relationship between Veterinary Medicine at MU and its "sister" college at the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Timisoara, Romania. He recently collaborated with a Romanian colleague, Professor Radu Palicica, on a 335-page Romanian-language reference work entitled Comparative Anatomy (domestic mammals, birds, humans) and Notions of Animal Physiology (2006), published by Orizonturi Universitare Publishing Company in Timisoara. Elaborating on his Romanian outreach, he says:"My relationships with the Romanian universities and faculties of Veterinary Medicine are reflected in terms of giving lectures, conferences, and seminars and attending several international meetings. As a scholar, I extended my relationships with my Romanian counterparts by publishing papers and ultimately this book." This outreach has been rewarding in other ways. At the publisher's book fair in December 2006, which celebrated ten years of success in publishing, theirs was among the four books selected as the best of the year, out of over 600 titles published in 2006.

Professor Constantinescu studies the gross anatomy of domestic and laboratory animals in general, focusing on their locomotor apparatus, the peripheral and autonomic nervous systems, and anatomical nomenclature. He has been teaching clinically-oriented Anatomy for over 20 years at MU, with the goal of bridging the gap between the basic and clinical sciences, part of a worldwide trend in Medical and Veterinary higher education. Among his many accomplishments, Professor Constantinescu has written and illustrated two sections of the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria (N.A.V.), which is a standard reference text in the field of Veterinary Science. He was also representative for the Americas in the 5-member Editorial Committee of the 5th edition of the N.A.V. (2005). Dr. Constantinescu is also a medical illustrator, having illustrated his own books: Clinical Dissection Guide for Large Animals, Guide to Regional Ruminant Anatomy Based on the Dissection of the Goat, and Clinical Anatomy for Small Animal Practitioners, which was translated into Portuguese, Japanese, and French.