Glossary
Veterinary Assistant Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential veterinary assistant terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key veterinary assistant vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in veterinary assistant training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Admission
- Checking in a patient.
- Autoclave
- A sterilizer for instruments.
- Body condition score
- A rating of weight.
- Discharge
- Sending a patient home.
- Disinfectant
- A chemical that kills germs.
- E-collar
- A cone that prevents licking.
- Fecal sample
- A stool sample for testing.
- Isolation ward
- An area for contagious patients.
- Kennel
- An enclosure for animals.
- Low-stress handling
- Gentle animal handling.
- Muzzle
- A device preventing bites.
- Post-op
- After surgery.
- Restraint
- Holding animals safely.
- Triage
- Prioritizing patients.
- Vital signs
- Temperature, pulse and respiration.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Veterinary Assistant practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Veterinary Assistant training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.