(September 7, 2011  Stillwater, OK) – Following a long and productive administrative career, Dr. Michael Lorenz returned to full time clinical and teaching assignments on August 15 at OSU’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences.  Lorenz holds board certification in small animal internal medicine with special interests in small animal neurology and dermatology.

On the job just two and one-half weeks, Lorenz says, “They are keeping me busy.  We had a dog in from Broken Bow, Okla., that we worked up today.  We’re going to run a spinal fluid test on an exotic cat that was referred to us from a Tulsa veterinary hospital.  I think we can build up a pretty good neurology practice.”
Lorenz is hopeful that the veterinary hospital will develop a unified approach to neurology and dermatology cases so that they can offer a good case load for students to gain hands-on experience.

“Dermatology cases are something graduating veterinarians will see all the time,” he adds.  “Neurology cases are less common.”
Lorenz says he treats dermatology referral cases more like a consultation.

“I tell the client that this is what I see and this is what I recommend.  Then I send the client back to their referring veterinarian for treatment and any necessary medications.”

According to Lorenz, the neurology cases are very dependent on the diagnostic tools offered at OSU’s veterinary hospital.

“We do more than render an opinion with a neurology case,” smiles Lorenz.  “House officers are excited about working on these cases because that type of case isn’t as common.  I let house officers do many of the procedures with my oversight so they can become more proficient in that area.  Each neurology case has a veterinary student, house officer or resident and a faculty member, such as me, assigned to it.  It works out well because when a house officer is processing one case, I can see another case, thus minimizing hospital stays for our neurology patients.”

Lorenz earned his B.S. degree in pre-veterinary medicine and his DVM degree from OSU. In 1997, he joined the faculty at OSU’s veterinary center as Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.  In 2001 he served as interim Dean until 2004 when he was chosen as Dean.  He is the first OSU alumnus to serve as Dean of the veterinary center.

Available for consultations and referrals at the center’s Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, you can reach Dr. Lorenz at (405) 744-7000 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences is one of 28 veterinary colleges in the United States and is fully accredited by the Council on Education of the American Veterinary Medical Association. The center's Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital is open to the public and provides routine and specialized care for small and large animals. It also offers 24 hour emergency care and is certified by the American Animal Hospital Association. For more information, visit www.cvhs.okstate.edu or call (405) 744-7000.

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