Avances en la medicina de elasmobranquiosFarmacocinética del meloxicam y contribuciones clínicas a la analítica sanguínea de tiburones y rayas

Abstract

This Doctoral Thesis provides new knowledge regarding the clinical and therapeutic management of elasmobranchs (sharks, rays, and skates) in order to support, on a scientific basis, the daily clinical procedures developed by veterinarians working with this taxonomic group. On the one hand, our work increases the diagnostic capacity in elasmobranchs by analyzing and determining species-specific blood values with the aimof facilitating the clinical interpretation of their blood tests. On the other hand, our workincreases the therapeutic capacity by proposing pharmacotherapeutic protocols based onthe kinetic behavior study of one of the most clinically used drugs in these species, theanti-inflammatory drug meloxicam. In the development of this thesis, two species ofelasmobranch have been used that have served as a model: the nursehound shark (Scyliorhinus stellaris) and the undulate skate (Raja undulata), as they are found in Spanish coastal waters, they are frequently maintained in European aquariums; they are medium sized, and have an easy handling and husbandry. The experimental protocols, sample analysis and data collection necessary to develop this Doctoral Thesis have been carried out at the facilities of Oceanogràfic of Valencia, the laboratory of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid, and the Department of Pharmacology of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Valencia. In addition, collaborations have been established and samplings have been carried out in different aquariums: Oceanogràfic (Valencia, Spain), Finisterrae Aquarium (Coruña, Spain), Bioparc Gijón Aquarium (Gijón, Spain), Museo Marítimo del Cantábrico (Santander, Spain), Seville Aquarium (Seville, Spain), Oceanario de Lisboa (Lisbon, Portugal), and Poema del Mar (Gran Canaria, Spain)...