Description: MALNUTRITION is thought to have a significant impact on morbidity and mortality in human patients who are critically ill. As a result, nutritional support has become a priority rather than an afterthought in the management of patients in many intensive care units. The importance of nutritional modulation of diseases is also increasingly being recognised in veterinary medicine, and this is especially true of critical illness. This article discusses the provision of parenteral and enteral nutrition for the critical care patient, and describes some situations in which these treatments are particularly useful.