Course description

Responsible teacher (email): Dr. Péli Evelin Ramóna ([Click to see email])
Teacher(s) take part in teaching: Dr. Házi Judit ([Click to see email]), Dr. Engel Rita ([Click to see email]), Dr. Kutszegi Gergely ([Click to see email])

Aim of the subject:

The aim of the subject is to introduce the Plant kingdom from a veterinarian point of view. During this, students can learn about the most important crop and poisonous plant species, their general morphology, cytology and histology, as well as their metabolic processes resulting nutrients and secondary metabolites for animals. The fundamental role of plant primary metabolic processes in the biosphere is discussed and compared to bacterial, fungal, and animal metabolism. Paying extra attention to the health hazards caused by micro or macrofungi, or agricultural chemicals, the importance of food chain safety in veterinary medicine is highlighted. The subject deals with grassland habitats also, as they are the main providers of animal forage.

Mandatory literature:

• Lecture notes and slides

Partian exemption is only possible if former studies match at least with 50% of the course.

Update: 2026.01.30.

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Lectures theme

Weekly schedule
1. (02.02)	Introduction, importance, morphology 1
2. (02.09)	Morphology 2
3. (02.16)	Plant cytology
4. (02.23)	Plant histology
5. (03.02)	Primary metabolism
6. (03.09)	Physiology and nutrient metabolism
7. (03.16)	Secondary plant metabolites 1.
8. (03.23)	Secondary plant metabolites 2.
9. (03.30)	Easter holiday
10. (04.06)	Equus days (11.04 .no lectures 🙂 )
11. (04.13)	Taxonomy 1.
12. (04.20)	Taxonomy 2.
13. (04.27)	Biogeography – grasslands
14. (05.04)	Mycoses, mycotoxicosis
15. (05.11)	Macrofungi and agricultural chemicals

Update: 2026.02.02. 

Practical lessons theme

Weekly schedule
1. (02.02)	Cereals
2. (02.09)	Pulse crops and oil plants
3. (02.16)	Forage legumes and fleshy forages
4. (02.23)	Test 1, Plants affecting the cardiac muscle
5. (03.02)	Plants promoting CNS symptoms
6. (03.09)	Poisonous plants affecting the gastrointestinal tract, more organ systems simultaneously or causing photosensitization or cytotoxicity
7. (03.16)	Poisonous plants promoting cancer, affecting the clotting of blood, producing oxalate crystals, accumulating nitrate ions, producing HCN, or allergy
8. (03.23)	Poisonous indoor and garden plants
9. (03.30)	Easter holiday
10. (04.06)	Equus week (no seminars during the week 🙂 )
11. (04.13)	Medicinal plants
12. (04.20)	Grasslands
13. (04.27)	Visiting the botanical garden „Füvészkert”
14. (05.04)	Test 3; Analysis of stomach/rumen contents, botanical hay analysis
15. (05.11)	Retake week

Species list of the Botany seminar course _Fajlista_ENG 2024

Update: 2026.02.02.

Evaluation description

Retake of mid-terms

If someone failed to reach the pass limit of the mid-term (50%) there’s two options for retake:

1) during the following week of the mid-term on a date discussed with your seminar teacher

OR

2) during the retake week (11-15 May), when you can retake the mid-term during any seminars you prefer.

Each tests can be retaken only once!

Despite of the retakes if someone still has one missing or failed test (<50%) in the end of the semester, we offer a final retake during the first week of the exam period.

In this case the mid-term is cumulative thus it covers the entire species list, not only that one which was below the pass grade (50%).

It means the identification and characterization of 5 species from each topics, so 15 species in all.

 

Update: 2026.02.03.

Exam information

During the oral exam students take one topic from the A and one from the B list.

For a succesfull oral exam students have to reach a pass grade (50%) from both topics.

Exam topics from veterinary botany, 2026

List of lecture topics (A)

1. Importance of botanical disciplines
2. Morphology and main modifications of plant organs
3. Specific organelles of plant cells
4. The main plant tissues: nutritive value and digestibility
5. Plant mineral nutrition: clinical signs of nutrient/mineral deficiencies in plants. Mineral deficiencies in animals.
6. The most important pathways of primary metabolism: the role of plants, fungi and bacteria in the biosphere (their relationships with animals)
7. Photosynthesis and cellular respiration (their roles in plant metabolism)
8. Plant secondary metabolites: the roles of carbohydrates and phenoloids
9. Plant secondary metabolites: the roles of polyketides and terpenoids
10.The main groups of nitrogen-containing compounds
11. Biosynthetic classification of antinutritive compounds in forages
12. Cryptogams (flowerless plants), gymnosperms, and monocots: morphological characteristics and veterinary importance
13. Dicot taxa: morphological characteristics and veterinary importance
14. The main grassland types: formation, global and European distribution
15. Mycotoxicosis: poisoning of humans and animals by microfungi
16. Mycetisms: mushroom poisonings in humans
17. Toxins of anthropogenic origin in the biosphere: effects, mechanism of action, consideration of food safety from soil microbes to humans

List of seminar topics (B)

1. Importance of cereals in animal nutrition
2. Importance of pulse crops in animal nutrition
3. Importance of oil-producing plants in animal nutrition
4. Importance of forage legumes in animal nutrition
5. Importance of fleshy forages in animal nutrition
6. Poisonous plants affecting the cardiac muscle: mechanism of action, effects, clinical signs
7. Poisonous plants with alkaloids promoting CNS symptoms: mechanism of action, effects, clinical signs
8. Poisonous plants with terpenoids or thiaminase enzymes promoting CNS symptoms: mechanism of action, effects, clinical signs
9. Poisonous plants causing photosensitization, liver damage, and cytotoxicity: mechanism of action, effects, clinical signs
10. Poisonous plants accumulating nitrate ions and producing HCN: mechanism of action, effects, clinical signs
11. Poisonous plants affecting the digestive tract, producing oxalic acid, and forming oxalate crystals: mechanism of action, effects, clinical signs
12. Poisonous plants promoting cancer or interfering with the clotting of blood: mechanism of action, effects, clinical signs
13. Importance of medicinal plants in veterinary medicine: benefits, fields of application, limitations
14. Importance of grazing and hay in animal nutrition: veterinarian aspects
15. Botanical hay and rumen content analysis

Exam_topics_2026

Update: 2026.02.12.