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Listing of Inherited Disorders in Animals (LIDA): An online relational database,

using non-technical descriptions written by veterinary students

Article  in  Journal of Veterinary Medical Education · February 2005

DOI: 10.3138/jvme.32.4.551 · Source: PubMed

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 Innovation in Veterinary Education

Listing of Inherited Disorders in Animals (LIDA):

An Online Relational Database, Using
Non-Technical Descriptions Written
by Veterinary Students
Paul D. McGreevy g Federico Costa g Paul Della Torre g Peter C. Thomson g Frank W. Nicholas

ABSTRACT
This online database uses a search facility that allows users to select from the 180 recognized dog breeds in Australia and
find out which ones are prone to the more than 500 inherited disorders on record. It was developed in consultation with
a number of supporting organizations, including the local breeders’ governing body and animal-welfare groups, as well as
owners. It is hoped that, although primarily for veterinary education, the Web site will increase awareness among breeders
and may encourage them to adopt breeding programs that decrease the occurrence of the most prevalent disorders.

INTRODUCTION 3. present this information online in a format convenient

Existing inherited-disorder databases devoted specifically for breeders and owners, to provide a foundation for
to dogs (including the Canine Inherited Disorders Database future Web-based online reporting of the incidence
[CIDD] [Canada] and the Inherited Diseases in Dogs of inherited disorders
Database [UK]) use veterinary terms to describe more than
LIDA was developed in consultation with the Royal
400 disorders. This is appropriate for the needs of specialists
New South Wales Canine Council (RNSWCC), the Royal
in veterinary genetics and clinical practice but has the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)
potential to make content inaccessible to a wider audience,
(Australia), and the Animal Welfare League (NSW).
including entry-level veterinary students and most stake-
holders outside the profession (breeders and owners). The
effectiveness of existing sites may also be limited by their
apparent failure to show how disorders may be related to MATERIALS AND METHODS
one another and to similar disorders in humans. Disorder Descriptions
A library-based activity was offered to 120 first-year
First-year veterinary students are ideally placed to provide
Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc) students at the
non-technical descriptions of inherited disorders—they
University of Sydney. The aim of the exercise was for
have the motivation and enthusiasm to synthesize available
students to develop an appreciation of the variety of
knowledge but are not yet burdened with technical terms.
congenital and inherited disorders in domestic dogs and
Accordingly, we set an exercise for first-year veterinary
to appreciate the virtues of writing in clear plain English.
students to describe inherited disorders in non-technical
Much of the written work submitted by students for this
terms and to classify each disorder according to organ
assignment was incorporated, with their permission, into
system. These descriptions and classifications have been
the LIDA database.
incorporated into an online relational database called
Listing of Inherited Disorders in Animals (LIDA),1 which Students were asked to submit a total of 250 words
also includes a hierarchical classification by breed group describing each of four disorders in lay terms, according
and breed within group. LIDA is linked to Online to the following instructions:
Mendelian Inheritance in Animals (OMIA),2 which provides
1. Select four canine inherited disorders from a list
up-to-date lists of references for each disorder, together
developed by the Association of Veterinarians for
with direct access to genetic and comparative information
Animal Rights (AVAR).
for each disorder.
2. Browse the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals
This paper reports on the creation and initial student
(OMIA) database. (http://www.angis.org.au/omia/)
utilization of LIDA. In creating LIDA, there were three
for your chosen disorders and, from the list of
principal aims:
references for each disorder, chose key peer-reviewed
1. involve first-year veterinary students in creating journal articles.
jargon-free descriptions of inherited disorders and
3. Obtain copies of these journal articles and, for placing
in allocating each disorder to an organ system
the detailed information in its proper context, consult
2. combine these descriptions with classifications of relevant sections of standard veterinary medicine
disorders by breed and organ system in a relational textbooks. [Several textbooks on veterinary medicine
database were placed on reserve at the library for this exercise.]

JVME 32(4) ß 2005 AAVMC 551

Table 1: Fields used by students in writing descriptions of inherited disorders
Field Additional Information

Disorder Name Issued to student at the start of the project

Alternative Names Any alternative names regularly used in the literature?
Brief Description One sentence describing the disorder
Presenting Signs Up to 250 words describing in lay terms the ways in which the disorder affects dogs
Dogs at Risk Is the disorder found only in one sex?
Is the disorder associated with a particular feature within breeds, such as coat color?
Do not mention breeds here but instead explain whether any dogs within a breed are at particular risk
Treatment Select from the following list: surgical, medical, surgical and medical, none
Related Disorders Name other inherited disorders that are commonly occur with the disorder—do not worry about these being
obscure to your reader. There will be opportunities for Web-site visitors to cross-refer to these disorders
elsewhere in the Web site. If no other inherited disorders commonly occur with the disorder, simply state
‘‘None’’
OMIA Number Refer to Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals (OMIA) database
Organ System Select from the following list: cardiovascular, endocrine, alimentary, immune, integument, musculoskeletal,
nervous/sensory, respiratory, urogenital

4. Using lay terms, write a description of the disorder
[using the framework outlined in an example that
deals with microphthalmia].
5. Use all of the subheadings for each disorder from the
template provided [see Table 1].
The disorder descriptions were assessed and then edited by
a veterinary practitioner and professional scientific editor,
who moderated the terms and language used to ensure
accessibility for the target audience, namely breeders and
owners. Written permission for inclusion in the database
was obtained from all students contributing intellectual
property to the database. Student authors were credited
individually for each piece of work in the database.
Database Structure
Conceptually, the database can be pictured as shown
in Figure 1: a disorder table and an organ table (left),
a disorder-breed table (top right), a breed/breed-group
table (centre right), and a disorder/alternatives table
(bottom right). The disorder and organ tables contain the
information provided by the students. The disorder-breed
table was constructed from information collected and
published by AVAR.3 The other two tables were constructed
by the first author.
This database structure, and the indexing on organ systems,
enables the following searches to be made:
. breed
. disorder
. breed group and then breed
. organ system and then disorder
. free-text search within breed (e.g., searching for terrier
will bring up all breeds whose names contain the
word terrier)
. free-text search within disorder (e.g., searching for
dysplasia will bring up all disorders containing the
word dysplasia)
Management of data, including adding and editing data,
was enabled through the open database connectivity
(ODBC) protocol.
Student Feedback
Two years after the first cohort of first-year BVSc students
had contributed their disorder descriptions, a new cohort
of 120 first-year BVSc students was asked to complete
an evaluation form that used a 5-point scale to quantify
the extent to which LIDA met six learning outcomes. The
combined results appear as percentages in Table 2. The
results clearly show that students gain great benefit from
LIDA.
DISCUSSION
Student Feedback
The students felt that the most challenging aspect of the
project was being required to write for a lay audience.
Before visiting the site, they did not view the feedback
forms that were designed to reflect the objectives of the
project. So, the higher number of students in the don’t know
category for alternative names may reflect their lack of
focus on this topic while searching the database. A similar
possibility may have caused the higher number of students
in the don’t know category for reference material. At the
time of the students’ being asked for their feedback, the
link to further reference material through OMIA was
labeled OMIA Number rather than with a more transparent
invitation to view reference material. So, we modified
this label to read, ‘‘Further reference material [OMIA
Number].’’

552 JVME 32(4) ß 2005 AAVMC

Figure 1: Schematic representation of the database structure. Lines join the fields that link tables

Table 2: Feedback on the use of LIDA in relation to six learning outcomes, from first-year BVSc students
(n ¼ 118)
LIDA Helped me to Strongly Disagree (%) Don’t Agree (%) Strongly
Disagree (%) Know (%) Agree (%)

Understand the variety of inherited disorders that occur 0 0 3 56 41

in pedigree dogs
Find information on the inherited disorders that may 0 0 1 30 69
occur in a dog of a certain breed
Become familiar with the groups used to categorize 0 0 12 64 24
pedigree dogs
Understand how inherited disorders can be 0 0 11 48 41
categorized according to the organ systems they
chiefly affect
Become aware of alternative names for inherited 0 1 27 49 23
disorders
Find online reference material on inherited disorders 0 3 28 41 28

Integration into the Curriculum
Two units of study in the BVSc curriculum currently make
direct use of LIDA: Animal Husbandry and Genetics and
Biometry.
In Animal Husbandry, a first-year unit of study, students
are asked to visit the site to familiarize themselves with
disorders encountered in a breed owned by themselves
or their family and in a breed owned by one of their
peers. The site also supports a two-hour lecture on the
diversity of modern breeds and possible solutions to the
common welfare problems associated with purebred dog
breeding.4
In Genetics and Biometry, a second-year unit of study,
a tutorial is conducted on OMIA and LIDA, with a strong
emphasis on the genetic basis of inherited disorders.
The emergence of problem-based learning in veterinary
curricula has meant that students are frequently presented
with case details that include the animal’s breed. Thorough
assessment of the case necessarily includes consideration
of disorders to which certain breeds are particularly prone.
Canine case studies built by faculty colleagues provide links
to LIDA to facilitate research into a breed’s predisposition to
disorders affecting particular organ systems. In assembling
a differential diagnosis, once students have identified the

JVME 32(4) ß 2005 AAVMC 553

 organ system involved, they can consult LIDA for a list of
disorders within that organ system.
Extension of LIDA to other species and to provide a means
of online reporting of the incidence of inherited disorders
in particular breeds is planned. Once we have confidence
that representative data are being collected, the existing
framework of LIDA will be expanded to allow us to
provide, online, real-time reports on trends in the prev-
alence of diagnoses of inherited disorders in dogs. More
than 250 Australian small-animal practices have agreed to
contribute to such an audit on an ongoing basis. This will
be of use to key stakeholders: the veterinary profession,
breeders, and potential puppy purchasers. There are plans
to provide inks to laboratories that provide genetic testing
and to extend the database to include data on horses, cat,
and cattle. The LIDA team is also examining ways to allow
veterinarians to report inherited disorders in the general
population.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This initiative was developed with the explicit endorsement
of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC), the
RSPCA (Australia), and the Animal Welfare League
(NSW), the Guide Dogs Association (NSW and ACT), the
Australian Veterinary Association, and the Australian
Small Animal Veterinary Association. It is supported by
the Royal New South Wales Canine Council and the Canine
Veterinary Research Foundation. Dr. Robert Dixon,
Marianne Gould, and Sally Pope are thanked for their
help in the preparation of disorder descriptions used on
this site.
REFERENCES
1 Listing of Inherited Disorders in Animals <http://
www.vetsci.usyd.edu.au/lida/>. Accessed 09/21/05.
2 Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals
<http://omia.angis.org.au/>. Accessed 09/24/05.
3 Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights.
Guide to Congenital and Inherited Disorders in Dogs
<http://www.avar.org>. Accessed 09/21/05.
4 McGreevy PD, Nicholas FW. Some practical solutions
to welfare problems in dog breeding. Anim Welf 8:
329–341, 1999.
554
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AUTHOR INFORMATION
Paul McGreevy is a Senior Lecturer in Animal Behaviour
in the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney,
NSW 2006 Australia. E-mail: paulm@vetsci.usyd.edu.au. His
teaching in applied ethology, companion-animal
husbandry, and animal-welfare science is designed with
an emphasis on relevance and inquiry-led learning.
Federico Costa is Web Services Coordinator at the Faculty
of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006
Australia. His involvement has been critical in the develop-
ment of the faculty’s online teaching and learning
resources, such as the image repository, CaseBuilder,
Year-5 Virtual Clinical Campus, and Partners in Education
Web sites.
Paul Della Torre spent two years in veterinary practice before
commencing further studies with the Faculty of Medicine at
the University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia. He has
managed an information technology business for seven years
and, as an occasional consultant to the Faculty of Veterinary
Science developing multimedia CD-ROM and Web-based
interactive education modules for the University of Sydney,
he has maintained strong ties to advanced veterinary
education.
Peter Thomson is a Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Biometry in
the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, NSW
2006 Australia. He has been teaching experimental design
and applied statistics to students in agricultural, veterinary,
and medical sciences for most of his career. Of particular
interest is how the use of these techniques can be help
students to make informed judgments about issues arising in
their own research or in their future professional careers. Dr.
Thomson’s main area of research deals with statistical
genetics, particularly in making optimal use of modern
genetic technologies.
Frank Nicholas is Professor of Animal Genetics in
the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney,
NSW 2006 Australia. His commitment to veterinary
education is reflected in his two textbooks, Veterinary
Genetics (Oxford, 1987) and Introduction to Veterinary
Genetics (Oxford, 1996; Blackwell, 2003). He is also the
creator and curator of Online Mendelian Inheritance in
Animals (OMIA), an online database of inherited
disorders and other traits in non-laboratory animals,
which forms the ‘‘backend’’ of LIDA, the database
described in this paper.
JVME 32(4) ß 2005 AAVMC