The word 兽医 is formed by directly combining two independent concepts: 兽 (shòu), meaning "beast" or "animal", and 医 (yī), meaning "to heal" or "medical treatment". It is a logical, descriptive compound where the first element defines the object or domain (animals) and the second element defines the action or profession (healing). The meaning emerges naturally from this juxtaposition, creating the single, unified concept of "one who heals animals", or a veterinarian.