Abstract

Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland. Dogs and cats commonly present to veterinary hospitals with urinary bladder disease, but despite their clinical importance and comparative potential to human diseases, bladder diseases in Australian dogs and cats are under-investigated. In veterinary pathology, diagnostic agreement is influenced by the pathologist’s own experience, training, and cognitive biases. Logistic regression is a statistical technique which has the potential to improve veterinary pathologist agreement. The main thesis goals were to investigate the pathology and comparative potential of canine and feline urinary bladder disease in Australia, and to explore the utility of logistic regression modelling in improving inter-pathologist agreement.