A professional who performs variety of animal health care duties to assist veterinarian in settings such as veterinarians' clinics, zoos, research laboratories, kennels, and commercial facilities. Responsibilities include:

• Prepares treatment room for examination of animals, and holds or restrains animals during examination, treatment, or inoculation.
• Administers injections, performs venipunctures, applies wound dressings, cleans teeth, and takes vital signs of animal, under supervision of veterinarian.
• Prepares patient, medications, and equipment for surgery, and hands instruments and materials to veterinarian during surgical procedures.
• Performs routine laboratory tests, cares for and feeds laboratory animals, and assists professional personnel with research projects in commercial, public health, or research laboratories.
• Inspects products or carcasses when employed in food processing plants to ensure compliance with health standards.
• May assist veterinarian to artificially inseminate animals.
• May bathe and groom small animals.