We had managed to choose perfect timing to sit down for an interview with Milan Kondor who has since been conferred the doctor’s degree. It was a week when he was still preparing for his state exam in one part of the week while leading an anatomy practice course in the other. As he was starting his job at the Anatomy and Histology Department he also had a chance to have a vet practice in Székesfehérvár, his native home town. Below you will find an excerpt from the interview.

– Is there a veterinarian lineage in your family?

– Not in the least! My mother is an economist, having her own private business; my father works in the film industry. So why have I chosen a career as a vet? The answer goes back into primary school where I was a member of the nature studies group. We would often go hiking and during these trips to nature I have developed a strong interest towards biology and chemistry that I still kept when I was at high school.

– Did you have animals or pets at home?

– I was about twelve or thirteen when we started keeping animals at home. First it was just some hens to produce fresh eggs, later we also kept rabbits, swine, goats  we have an evolving livestock. I loved tending for animals, loved dealing with them, treating them. Whenever the vet came to treat them I enjoyed helping him in his job.

 – Which field of veterinary medicine are you especially interested in?

– Anatomy, naturally, from the first years of studies. So far it was about enjoying studying  from now on enjoying teaching is added to this. Having previously worked as a demonstrator I was fascinated when I saw that students could finally comprehend the material of the lecture.

 – A non-professional layman would easily think that anatomy is a fully explored field of science. 

– Anatomy has certainly been researched for a long time but there are still some new things under the sun. 3D printing, for example, is a particularly great help in education. Let’s take the fibula of a horse: it is rather difficult to be preserved in a way it can be presented for a long time to students during an anatomy practice. Associate Professor dr László Reinitz, who was my consultant for my thesis, is planning to create such bones by 3D printing.

– How did you choose the ostrich as the topic for your Student Science Circle thesis?

– It was me who chose anatomy but it was luck who gave me the ostrich. One Sunday evening Professor Reinitz called me and told me that the department received two ostrich carcasses that had been offered for educational and research purposes by the Vizi Ostrich Farm in Tiszasüly. We started performing the autopsy of the carcasses and later realized that we had been working on the dissection for the third day in a row, without stopping. Then my topic leader asked me if I fancied the process of this dissection to be the topic of my student circle thesis  it was, in fact, almost all ready by then, all I needed to do was to put it down in writing. I grabbed the opportunity and alas! My thesis was born with the title Curiosities in the Regional Anatomy of the Ostrich (Strutio camelus).

– What do you consider to be the most interesting part in this research work?

–  We have managed to complete the ostrich skeleton with Professor Reinitz  I am really convinced that it is beautiful! Quite proud of it. This skeleton may serve anatomy education for decades. At the anatomy exam you will have to know the anatomy of birds and it is much easier to recognize the basic bones on a two meter high bird skeleton than on, for example, a hen.

– How did this task affect you?

– First of all, I was fascinated. This is what made me decide to stay at the university and deal, well, perhaps not with the ostrich, but with anatomy.

 

Interview by Gusztáv, Balázs – UNIVET Magazine, 2019 March