June 2021

AJVR Instructions for Authors

he American Journal of Veterinary Research is a were involved in drafting or revising the manuscript criti- monthly, peer-reviewed, veterinary medical journal cally for important intellectual content; and (3) approved Towned by the American Veterinary Medical Asso- the submitted version of the manuscript and will have an ciation that publishes reports of original research and re- opportunity to approve subsequent revisions of the man- view articles in the general area of veterinary medical uscript, including the version to be published. All 3 condi- research. tions must be met. Each individual listed as an author must have participated sufficiently to take public responsibility MISSION for the work. Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or The mission of the American Journal of Veterinary Re- general supervision of the research team does not, alone, search is to publish, in a timely manner, peer-reviewed re- justify authorship. Requests to list a working group or ports of the highest quality research that has the clear po- study group in the byline will be handled on a case-by-case tential to enhance the health, welfare, and performance of basis. All authors must complete and submit the Copy- animals and humans. The journal will maintain the highest right Assignment Agreement and Authorship Form ethical standards of scientific and promote (jav.ma/CAA-AF), confirming that they meet the criteria such standards among its contributors. In addition, the for authorship. If a manuscript describes clinical treat- journal will foster global interdisciplinary cooperation in ments or clinical interpretations, at least 1 author must be veterinary medical research. a veterinarian.

Compounding SCOPE Manuscripts describing studies that involved admin- The American Journal of Veterinary Research supports istration of compounded products should include in the the collaborative exchange of information between re- Materials and Methods section a complete description of searchers and clinicians by publishing novel research find- each compounded product, including identities and ings that bridge the gulf between basic research and clini- sources of the active and inactive ingredients, concentra- cal practice or that help to translate laboratory research tion of each ingredient, and, if available, stability data for and preclinical studies to the development of clinical trials each product such that the compounded product may be and clinical practice. The journal welcomes submission of replicated if needed. high-quality original studies and review articles in a wide range of scientific fields, including anatomy, anesthesiol- Conflicts of interest and financial disclosures ogy, animal welfare, behavior, clinical pathology, epidemi- A conflict of interest exists whenever an individual ology, genetics, infectious disease, microbiology, molecu- has financial interests or personal relationships that might lar biology, oncology, pharmacology, pathogenic mecha- consciously or unconsciously influence their decisions. nisms, physiology, surgery, theriogenology, toxicology, Conflicts of interest are ubiquitous and cannot be com- and vaccinology. Species of interest include production pletely eliminated; they do not, by themselves, indicate animals, companion animals, equids, exotic animals, birds, improper behavior, wrongdoing, or scientific misconduct. reptiles, and wild and marine animals. Reports of labora- Financial relationships are the most easily identifiable tory animal studies and studies involving the use of animals conflicts of interest and include, among other things, own- as experimental models of human diseases are considered ership, employment, consultancies, honoraria, paid expert only when the study results are of demonstrable benefit testimony, grants, patents, stock ownership or options, to the species used in the research or to another species and service as an officer or board member. Other con- of veterinary interest. Other fields of interest or animal flicts of interest include personal and professional rela- species are not necessarily excluded from consideration, tionships, academic competition, and intellectual beliefs. but such reports must focus on novel research findings. All authors must disclose in the Acknowledgments Submitted papers must make an original and substantial section of the manuscript any financial or personal rela- contribution to the veterinary medicine knowledge base; tionships that could be perceived to influence or could preliminary or pilot studies are not appropriate. give the appearance of influencing information in the sub- mitted manuscript. This includes detailed information EDITORIAL POLICIES about all relevant financial interests, activities, relation- Authorship ships, and affiliations (other than affiliations listed on the Individuals should be listed as authors only if they (1) title page of the manuscript) occurring at the present time made a substantial contribution to the conception and de- or within the 3 years prior to manuscript submission. In sign of the study, the acquisition of the data used in the this context, relevant financial interests, activities, relation- study, or the analysis and interpretation of that data; (2) ships, and affiliations should be interpreted broadly. For AJVR  Instructions for Authors 1

example, authors should disclose relationships they have proposed the following definition for dual-use research: not only with companies that manufacture products that are the subject of research described in the manuscript Dual-use research of concern is research that, but also with companies that manufacture competing based on current understanding, can be reasona- products. If no such conflicts of interest existed, the fol- bly anticipated to provide knowledge, products, lowing statement or an equivalent should be included: The or technologies that could be directly misapplied authors declare that there were no conflicts of interest. by others to pose a threat to public health, safety, The scientific editors reserve the right to reject any agricultural crops and other plants, animals, the manuscript because of conflicts of interest. Failure to fully environment, or material. disclose conflicts of interest may be grounds for rejection or retraction of the manuscript. Accordingly, the AJVR has adopted the following pol- icy regarding assessment of submitted manuscripts with Copyright potential dual-use content: The AJVR is covered by copyright. All authors will be  Any manuscript submitted for publication that raises required to transfer copyright to the AVMA prior to pub- concerns regarding dual-use potential will be subject lication of any manuscript or letter by completing and sub- to editorial review to determine the risks and benefits mitting the Copyright Assignment Agreement and Au- to the scientific community and to the public at large thorship Form (jav.ma/CAA-AF). Requests to copy, re- that may result from publication. The AVMA scientific print, or use portions of published material (including in- editors maintain a strong commitment against with- formation in figures, appendices, and tables) should be ad- holding scientific or other information unless there are dressed to the editor-in-chief. compelling reasons to do so. Authors must obtain and submit a statement of per-  The scientific editors reserve the right to seek special mission from the copyright holder (most often, the author external review of these manuscripts from individuals or publisher) if they wish to include an exact duplicate or with technical and biosecurity expertise to assist their a slightly modified version of items such as figures, appen- decision. dices, or tables that appeared or will have appeared in  Authors and reviewers are expected to alert the other published reports prior to publication of the manu- AVMA scientific editors when submitting or reviewing script, regardless of the originating . manuscripts with dual-use potential. Original artwork (eg, drawings or photographs) that  The final decision for publication as well as the means was created specifically for use in the manuscript must be of communicating manuscripts with dual-use potential accompanied by a letter explaining the conditions under will be made by the editor-in-chief. An accompanying which the work was created. The letter must be signed editorial may be published. by the artist and specify the rights given to the authors for use of the artwork and the rights retained by the artist (if any). If rights are retained by the artist, the letter must The AVMA has adopted the following policy on edi- include a statement that allows the journal to use the ma- torial independence of the AJVR: terial for publication in print and online. If diagnostic images (eg, radiographic, CT, MRI, and The AVMA recognizes and fully accepts the need histologic images) that were not prepared by the authors for editorial independence of the AVMA journals or their institution are included in the manuscript, the au- and grants the editor-in-chief full authority over thors must include a statement from the copyright holder the editorial content of the journals, including that allows the journal to use the images for publication the selection of content for publication and the in print and online. timing of publication of that content. For these purposes, editorial content is understood to in- Dual-use research of concern clude research articles, other types of scientific Openness is recognized as a priority when making de- reports, opinion articles, , and advertising. cisions regarding scientific publishing. Advances in molec- Opinions and statements expressed in the ular and cellular biology, genetics, microbiology, and other AVMA journals are those of the contributors and life sciences have made it increasingly possible to manipu- do not represent the official policy of the AVMA, late aspects of biological systems to better understand unless so stated. AVMA management does not healthy states and mechanisms of disease. However, these interfere in the evaluation, selection, or advances have also increased the potential that infor- of individual articles published in the AVMA jour- mation, products, or technologies resulting from life sci- nals, either directly or by creating an environ- ences research may be misused for harmful purposes. The ment that strongly influences decisions of the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity has editor-in-chief.

AJVR  Instructions for Authors 2

Funding and support students, or private entities), must include a statement All funding, other financial support (eg, grant sup- that the study protocol was reviewed and approved by an port), and material support (eg, provision of equipment or appropriate oversight entity (eg, an animal care and use supplies) received directly or indirectly (via an author’s committee or institutional review board) or was per- institution) from any third party (eg, any government formed in compliance with institutional or other (eg, gov- agency, foundation, or commercial enterprise) in connec- ernmental or international) guidelines for research on tion with the study or writing of the manuscript must be animals. clearly and completely described in the Acknowledgments Manuscripts describing prospective studies that in- section of the manuscript. If no third-party funding or sup- volved privately owned animals must also include a state- port was received, the following statement or an equiva- ment indicating that informed owner consent was ob- lent should be included: No third-party funding or support tained. Manuscripts describing research involving human was received in connection with this study or the writing subjects, including surveys of human subjects, must in- or publication of the manuscript. clude a statement that the research was performed under The authors must also include a relevant statement appropriate institutional review board oversight. in the Acknowledgments section if any funding organiza- tion or sponsor had any role in the design or conduct of NIH Public Access Policy the study; collection, analysis, or interpretation of the The AVMA journals are in compliance with the Na- data; writing or approval of the manuscript; or decision to tional Institutes of Health Public Access Policy submit the manuscript for publication. Alternatively, the (jav.ma/NIHPAP) and with the policies of following statement or an equivalent should be included: other research funders. To assist authors of manuscripts Funding sources did not have any involvement in the study subject to the NIH Public Access Policy (jav.ma/PAPA), design, data analysis and interpretation, or writing and the AVMA has arranged to submit articles to PubMed publication of the manuscript. Central on behalf of the authors at the time of publication. Failure to fully disclose sources of financial and other Authors should not submit the accepted or any other ver- support may be grounds for rejection or retraction of the sion of their manuscript to PubMed Central, as this will manuscript. preclude submission of the published version.

Humane animal care and use Patient confidentiality and the right to privacy To be considered for publication in the AJVR, all re- Authors have an obligation to protect the personal search studies involving animals must have been per- privacy of patients and clients and to maintain the confi- formed in compliance with guidelines outlined in the US dentiality of patient-client information. For any manu- Animal Welfare Act (jav.ma/AWA), US Public Health Ser- script containing patient information (eg, patient descrip- vice Policy on the Humane Care and Use of Laboratory tions, photographs, or pedigrees) that would allow spe- Animals (jav.ma/HCULA), National Research Council’s cific animals or their owners to be identified, the authors Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals must obtain a signed statement of informed consent to (jav.ma/GCULA), or Guide for the Care and Use of Agri- publish the information (in print and online) from the cultural Animals in Research and Teaching (jav.ma/GCU- owners. Generally, such consent should include an oppor- AART) or in compliance with equivalent guidelines. If ani- tunity for the owner to read the manuscript to be submit- mals were euthanized, the method of euthanasia must be ted for publication. If necessary, nonessential identifying indicated in the manuscript. Methods of euthanasia must data can be removed, unless clinically or epidemiologically comply with AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Ani- important. However, identifying data may not be altered mals (jav.ma/GEA). If a method not recommended by the or falsified. Cropping or altering photographs to remove AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia was used, a justification nonessential identifying information is acceptable, so long for use of this method must be provided. as the photographs are not otherwise altered. Patient A manuscript containing information that suggests identifiers may not appear in photographs. Authors must animals were subjected to adverse, stressful, or harsh also obtain informed consent to publish from any identifi- conditions or treatments will not be considered for pub- able person appearing in photographs. Importantly, these lication unless the authors demonstrate convincingly that guidelines also apply to any materials (eg, text, photo- the knowledge gained was of sufficient value to justify graphs, or videos) submitted for posting as supplementary these conditions or treatments. materials.

Institutional oversight and owner consent Prior publication With the exception of reports of retrospective stud- A manuscript is received with the understanding that ies based solely on reviews of medical records, manu- the information has not been published or submitted for scripts describing studies that involved the use of animals, publication in any compiled printed (eg, journals, symposia, including studies that involved the use of privately owned proceedings, newsletters, or books) or electronic (eg, pre- animals (eg, animals owned by clients, staff members, print servers, conference or university websites, , or AJVR  Instructions for Authors 3

social media posts) format in English or any other language  SRQR (Standards for Reporting Qualitative Re- and will not be published or submitted for publication search)—for all studies involving qualitative research elsewhere while the manuscript is under consideration by  SAMPL (Statistical Analyses and Methods in the Pub- the AJVR. lished Literature)—for all studies A manuscript containing previously published infor- mation may be rejected on the grounds of prior publica- These guidelines and more are available through the tion. Publication of abstracts containing 250 words or EQUATOR (Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of fewer will not be considered to constitute prior publica- Health Research) Network (www.equator-network.org). tion, but publication of longer abstracts in any compiled printed or electronic format may be (note that this in- Scientific misconduct cludes posting of poster presentations to conference or The AJVR strongly supports and upholds the code of university websites). Authors are encouraged to consult conduct espoused by the international Committee on the guidelines for preparation of scientific abstracts Publication Ethics (COPE) to promote integrity in the (jav.ma/GPSA) when preparing scientific abstracts for pub- conduct and reporting of research. The journal views lication or presentation at meetings. In general, figures, ta- gravely instances of scientific misconduct, which COPE de- bles, footnotes, and references should not be included in fines as “the intention to cause others to regard as true abstracts. that which is not.” Such misconduct includes but is not At the time of manuscript submission, the cor-re- limited to data fabrication or falsification, deceptive image sponding author must include copies of any abstracts of manipulation, and plagiarism. In signing the Copyright As- the manuscript that have been published or submitted for signment Agreement and Authorship Form, authors attest publication or that are expected to be submitted for pub- that their works are original and free of scientific lication, along with copies of any closely related manu- misconduct. scripts or manuscripts with substantially similar content. The AJVR is ethically obliged to investigate all suspi- cions or allegations of scientific misconduct, including pla- Publication fees and open access giarism. Therefore, authors are expected to know and un- All manuscripts accepted for publication in the AJVR derstand the definition of plagiarism as well as the conse- are subject to an article publication charge of $1,000. quences. The AJVR considers plagiarism to be the inten- All articles published in the AJVR are posted to the tional or unintentional use of another’s ideas or words as AVMA journals website (jav.ma/AJVR) at no charge to the one’s own, without attribution to the original source. Such authors. However, access to the full text of these articles use can range from copying of brief passages from previ- is restricted to subscribers or available on a pay-per-view ous publications (with or without changing a few words) basis. Authors can elect to have their manuscripts made to copying of entire portions of text, data, or both. freely available online for all to read, download, and share. Detection of plagiarism and other instances of scien- The fee for this open access is an additional $1,000 per tific misconduct will result in notification of the primary manuscript. author, the coauthors, and possibly the author’s institution, depending on the extent of misconduct and nature of the Reporting guidelines deception (eg, intentional, reckless, or negligent). Further To ensure thoroughness of reporting, authors are sanctions for misconduct detected prior to publication strongly encouraged to make use of the following guide- will depend on the author’s response to the allegations lines, if applicable, when preparing manuscripts: and may range from admonition by the editor to rejection of the manuscript, barring of the author(s) and their insti-  CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Tri- tution from future considerations, referral to the author’s als)—for clinical trials institution for further disciplinary action, and informing of  REFLECT (Reporting Guidelines for Randomized Con- other editors and the indexing authorities. For miscon- trolled Trials for Livestock and Food Safety)—for clini- duct detected after publication, these sanctions can ex- cal trials in livestock and food safety tend to retraction of the report, with full explanation of  STARD (Standards for the Reporting of Diagnostic Ac- the reason, and reporting to other authorities. curacy Studies)—for diagnostic test evaluation Special consideration is given to the practice of text  STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observa- recycling, also known as self-plagiarism, which refers to an tional Studies in Epidemiology)—for cross-sectional, author’s use of their own previously published text. Alt- case-control, and cohort studies hough text recycling may be acceptable in select instances  PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Re- (eg, in the Materials and Methods section of a scientific views and Meta-analyses)—for systematic reviews and report), it generally will not be considered acceptable. meta-analyses The AJVR supports the text recycling guidelines developed  ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Exper- by BioMed Central in collaboration with the COPE iments)—for all studies involving laboratory animals (jav.ma/COPE-TR).

AJVR  Instructions for Authors 4

MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES  Footnotes Reports of original research, review articles, and let-  References ters to the editor will be considered for publication in the  Figure legends AJVR; clinical reports that describe features of 1 or more  Appendices clinical cases will generally not be considered. For reports  Tables of original research, preference is accorded to those that provide novel findings that could be expected to have clin- Title page ical or practical value within the next several years. Re- The title page must include the manuscript title and view articles should focus on subject areas in which im- the first name, middle initial, and last name of each author, portant advances have been made during the past 5 years. along with each author’s professional degree and highest Readers who submit letters to the editor must limit earned academic degree (eg, MS or PhD, MPVM). Do not them to 500 words (longer letters will be condensed as list specialty board certifications, fellowship designations, needed) and 6 references. Letters must be original and and honorary degrees. A bachelor’s or associate’s degree cannot have been published or submitted for publication should be listed only if it is the author’s only degree. Pro- elsewhere. Not all letters are published; all letters ac- fessional affiliations, including addresses, of the authors at cepted for publication are subject to editing. Those per- the time of the study should be indicated. taining to anything published in the AJVR should be re- Finally, the name and email address of the correspond- ceived within 1 month after the date of publication of the ing author (limited to 1 person) must also be included on material to which they refer. Submission via email the title page. For continuity, this person should be the ([email protected]) is encouraged; authors should same as the person responsible for submitting the manu- give their full contact information, including address, day- script, up to the point of galley proof review. At the galley time telephone number, fax number, and email address. proof stage, the corresponding author may be changed to Letters containing defamatory, libelous, or malicious the person who will be responsible for inquiries about the statements will not be published, nor will letters repre- article, if different from the submitting author. senting attacks on or attempts to demean veterinary so- cieties or their committees or agencies. Structured abstract With the exception of review articles, all manuscripts MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION must include a structured abstract of 250 or fewer words, Authors should pay close attention to the following organized under the following headings: guidelines for manuscript preparation and format. Manu- scripts that are not prepared in accordance with these  Objective guidelines will be returned to the authors for amendment  Animals (or Sample) and resubmission.  Procedures  Results Format  Conclusions and Clinical Relevance Manuscripts (including footnotes, references, figure legends, appendices, and tables) should be prepared with Abbreviations list the following attributes: All abbreviations except for standard abbreviations (see jav.ma/StdAbbr for full list) and units of measure  8.5 X 11-inch (or A4) page size should be listed in alphabetical order at the beginning of  Double-space typed the manuscript text (after the Structured Abstract and be-  12-point font fore the introductory section), along with their defini-  1-inch (2.5-cm) margins tions. These abbreviations should then be used without  Left justification expansion in the text, figures, appendices, and tables, ex-  Sequential line numbering cept at the start of a sentence, in which case the expanded term should be used. Organization and contents Manuscripts should be organized as follows: Text The text should begin with an introduction (which  Title page does not have a heading) and then be organized under the  Structured abstract (when applicable; letters to the ed- following headings: itor and review articles do not have a structured ab- stract)  Materials and Methods  Abbreviations list (when applicable)  Results  Text  Discussion  Acknowledgments AJVR  Instructions for Authors 5

The introduction should supply sufficient pertinent In general, the main text should be brief and focus on background information to allow readers to understand the main issues. Although there are no word limits for why the study was performed. It must include the ra- reports in the AJVR, the main text (ie, all text other than tionale for the study, a clear statement of the purpose of the acknowledgments, footnotes, references, figure leg- the study, and the investigators’ hypothesis or hypothe- ends, appendices, and tables) for most manuscripts should ses. The introduction is not intended to be a thorough consist of no more than 3,000 to 4,000 words. Manu- review of the published literature on a subject. Rather, it scripts that are excessively long may be returned for re- should be brief (often, 2 or 3 paragraphs will suffice) and moval of nonessential information. should focus on identifying the specific problem the study is meant to address; describing how the study addresses Acknowledgments the problem, differs from previous studies, or improves The Acknowledgments section is where information our understanding; and explaining what the present study on sources of funding and support and conflicts of interest was meant to do and what hypotheses it was meant to must be listed, along with any disclaimers, any acknowl- test. edgments of individuals who made important contribu- The Materials and Methods section should describe tions to the study but did not meet the criteria for au- the study design in sufficient detail to allow others to re- thorship, and any previous presentations of the findings at produce the study. A subsection detailing statistical meth- scientific meetings. In addition, for studies involving multi- ods used to summarize data, evaluate data distributions, ple institutions, a statement indicating where the work and test hypotheses, along with a statement regarding the was done may be included, if applicable. For information cutoff for significance used for hypothesis testing, should on listing sources of funding and support and conflicts of be provided. Appendices and methods-related figures interest, see the editorial policies on Funding and support should be cited parenthetically. Products (including soft- and Conflicts of interest and financial disclosures. ware), equipment, and drugs should be identified in the The Acknowledgments section should be used to text by chemical or generic names or descriptions. For all identify specific individuals who had an important role in statistical tests, authors are required to indicate whether or made important contributions to the study but who do applicable test assumptions were met. When citing soft- not meet the criteria for authorship. In general, this in- ware products, a footnote should be used to cite the soft- cludes individuals who contributed intellectually to the ware (eg, PROC GLM, SAS, version 9.2, SAS Institute Inc, study or report but whose contributions do not justify Cary, NC) and a reference should be used to cite a user’s authorship, individuals who provided technical assistance guide (eg, SAS/STAT 9.2 user’s guide. Cary, NC: SAS Insti- (eg, individuals who performed special tests or research), tute Inc, 2008;page number). and individuals who assisted with the statistical analyses. The Results section should provide data that are The Acknowledgments section should not be used clearly and simply stated without discussion or conclu- simply as a method of expressing gratitude to individuals sions. Tables and figures should be cited parenthetically. who had a minor role in the study. The acknowledgments Authors should refrain from repeating within the text data should not include individuals whose only contribution to that are also presented in tables and figures and are en- the study or report involved the routine performance of couraged to report the number of subjects included in any their normal job duties and who did not provide any unu- statistical calculations (eg, means, medians, and results of sual or extraordinary intellectual contribution or technical statistical tests), particularly if that number differs among expertise to the conduct of the study or writing of the described variables. For each percentage, the numerator report. Acknowledgments of nonspecific groups (eg, the and denominator used in the calculation should also be intensive care unit technicians) and unidentifiable groups reported. Authors of manuscripts reporting gene se- (eg, the anonymous contributors or study participants) quences should submit those sequences to an appropriate are not allowed. Individuals named in the acknowledg- data bank. ments must have given their permission to the authors to The Discussion section should focus on findings in the be listed, because readers may infer their endorsement of manuscript and should be brief (generally no more than the data and conclusions. 2,000 words), containing only discussion that is necessary for the interpretation of findings. The major findings, in- Footnotes cluding whether hypotheses stated in the introduction Footnotes are to be used when referencing each of were supported, should be given in the first paragraph. the following types of information: Strengths and weaknesses of the study should be acknowl- edged, and the discussion should end with the principal  Abstracts points that readers should take away. The Discussion sec-  Conference presentations tion should concentrate mainly on what is known in non-  Online databases human animals, with less emphasis on what is known in  Personal communications humans. It should not contain any subheadings.  Products, drugs, equipment, and other materials

AJVR  Instructions for Authors 6

 Statistical and computer software Figures  Theses and dissertations Figures should be limited to those that reduce or  Other unpublished materials (eg, preliminary reports) clarify the text. Images of clinically normal animals are not usually required, nor are images of equipment unless the Specific products, equipment, or drugs should be in- equipment has been set up in a special way and the setup cluded in the footnotes only if they were essential to the is integral to the study. Text and symbols should be large outcome of the report or study. Products, equipment, and enough that they will still be legible when the figure is re- drugs that are commonly used materials in veterinary duced to 1 column in width during publication (in general, medicine need not be footnoted. this means that all text and symbols must be at least 1.5 Footnotes should be cited in the text as superscript mm tall when the figure is reduced to 8 cm in width). For letters and listed alphabetically after the Acknowledg- text labels, the first word of each label should start with a ments section and before the references. If more than 26 capital letter, with any remaining words other than proper footnotes are required, continue the sequence with dou- nouns in lowercase letters (eg, Cranial vena cava). ble letters (eg, aa, bb, and cc). For products and equip- To ensure high-quality reproduction, symbols used to ment, provide complete information in the footnote, in- represent data in graphs should be limited to white and cluding manufacturer’s name and location (ie, city, state, black circles, triangles, and squares; axes should be labeled and country [if other than the United States]). in Helvetica or Arial font. Keys to data symbols may be placed in a small box inserted into the unused portion of References graphs. Symbols used in figures and tables should be as- Authors bear primary responsibility for accuracy of signed in the following order: all references. References must be limited to those that  Asterisk (*) are necessary and must be cited in the text by superscript numbers in order of citation. Primary references (eg,  Dagger (†) those of original studies) rather than secondary refer-  Double dagger (‡) ences (eg, textbooks and review articles) should be cited  Section indicator (§) whenever possible. Journal titles in the Reference section  Double vertical bar (||) should be abbreviated in accordance with the National Li-  Paragraph indicator (¶) brary of Medicine and Index Medicus (jav.ma/NLM-JA). For  Pound sign (#) references with more than 3 authors, only the first 3 au-  Two asterisks (**) thors should be listed, followed by et al. The following is  Two daggers (††) the style used for common types of references:  Two double daggers (‡‡)

 Article in a journal Photomicrographs and electron micrographs must in- 1. Lamont LA, Bulmer BJ, Sisson DD, et al. Doppler echo- clude an internal scale marker. For figures that include cardiographic effects of medetomidine on dynamic left multiple panels, each panel should be sequentially labeled ventricular outflow tract obstruction in cats. J Am Vet Med with a capital letter in the same corner of each panel. If a Assoc 2002;221:1276–1281. figure contains 2 or more rows of panels, the letter labels should be applied sequentially from left to right in the first  Book chapter row, then from left to right in the second row, and so on. 2. Muir P, Johnson KA, Manley PA. Fractures of the pelvis. Figure legends must be provided at the end of the In: Birchard SJ, Sherding RG, eds. Saunders manual of small manuscript, after the references and before any appen- animal practice. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Co, dices and tables. Sufficient information should be included 2000;1126–1132. to allow the figure to be understood without reference to the text. Abbreviations defined in the abbreviations list at  Proceedings the beginning of the text do not need to be expanded; 3. Moore MP, Bagley RS, Harrington ML, et al. Intracranial however, newly introduced abbreviations in figures tumors, in Proceedings. 14th Annu Meet Vet Med Forum should be defined in the figure legend, in alphabetical or- 1996;331–334. der. When applicable, stains used for microscopic exami- nation of specimens must be indicated in the legend as  Electronic material well as the scale of the marker bar (eg, H&E stain; bar = 4. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Bovine 100 µm). Figure legends for ECG traces must include the spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Available at: www. paper speed and scale (eg, Paper speed = 50 mm/s; 1 cm aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/bse.html. Accessed Feb 18, = 1 mV). Authors wishing to use any previously published 2016. figures must submit written permission from the copy- right holder.

AJVR  Instructions for Authors 7

Appendices manuscript to external reviewers for . Appendices may be provided when information per- Whether supplementary materials have or have not un- taining to the Materials and Methods could be more suc- dergone peer review will be indicated on the landing page cinctly and clearly summarized in tabular rather than nar- where the supplementary materials are posted. rative format. Examples of information that might lend it- Supplementary materials should be prepared in com- self to an appendix include scoring and classification ru- pliance with the general guidelines for manuscript style. brics; lists of nucleotide sequences; tabular summaries of Although supplementary materials may undergo minor complex treatment protocols; and compositions of diets or formatting, they generally will not undergo or feedstuffs. Copies of questionnaires and surveys also the same substantive editing provided for manuscripts. qualify as appendix materials but should instead be sub- Therefore, the authors are responsible for ensuring clarity mitted in pdf format for publication as online supplemen- and accuracy of the content as well as consistency with tary material. the printed version.

Tables MANUSCRIPT STYLE Tables are reserved for reporting of findings and not For questions of style, refer to the latest edition of for describing the materials and methods. Submission of the American Medical Association Manual of Style excessive tabular data is discouraged, and tables should be (www.amamanualofstyle.com; online access requires a limited to those containing data important to understand- subscription; individual subscriptions are available on a ing and interpreting results of the study. All tables should monthly basis if desired). Manuscripts should be written be placed at the end of the manuscript, after the figure in American English. For spelling of lay terms, refer to the legends. Authors will be asked to delete tables containing latest American edition of the Merriam-Webster Diction- data that could be reported more succinctly in the text. ary. For anatomic terms, use anglicized versions of official Tables that focus solely on findings in individual animals terms listed in the latest edition of the Nomina Anatomica rather than summary data from groups of animals are to Veterinaria. Refer to the latest editions of the American be avoided. Authors wishing to use any previously pub- Drug Index and USP Dictionary of US Adopted Names lished tables must submit written permission from the and International Drug Names for proper spelling of copyright holder. chemical and drug names and to the latest edition of For the order of symbol use in tables, please refer to Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary for proper the instructions for figures. To indicate significant differ- spelling and use of medical terms. Refer to Bergey’s Man- ences between or among values in a row or column, sym- ual of Determinative Microbiology for spelling and correct bols or superscript lowercase letters assigned in alpha- taxonomic classifications of microorganisms. For pharma- betical order (a–z) may be used. If additional differentia- cologic and pharmacokinetic terms, see the AVMA jour- tion is needed (eg, if differences need to be reported in nals style sheet on the subject (jav.ma/pk-terms). both rows and columns) and lowercase letters have al- Authors of manuscripts that are not written in their ready been used, superscript uppercase letters in alpha- first language or that required substantial language trans- betical order (A–Z) may be used. lation in the writing process are encouraged to seek pro- fessional language correction or copyediting services prior Supplementary materials to submission. Such services can aid with language, gram- Additional materials that are not in themselves essen- mar, and style in scientific writing and can help ensure the tial to the understanding of the article but provide an im- manuscript content can be understood by editors and po- portant expansion of the article contents may be submit- tential reviewers. ted for publication as supplementary materials. Examples include extended descriptions of experimental methods Abbreviations or statistical analyses, extended bibliographies, additional Overuse of abbreviations can be confusing and frus- supporting data or results (eg, tables and figures), report- trating for readers. In general, use of abbreviations other ing checklists, copies of survey instruments or question- than the journal’s standard abbreviations (see jav.ma/ naires, handouts, forms, and multimedia representations StdAbbr for full list) and units of measure should be kept (eg, video clips) of relevant content. All published supple- to a minimum. mentary materials are subject to copyright. In the Structured Abstract, a term should be abbre- Supplementary materials must be useful to readers viated only if it is used at least 3 times in the Structured and relevant to the article; redundant and extraneous Abstract. The term must be expanded at first mention, content will not be accepted. Whether supplementary with the abbreviation given in parentheses after the ex- materials will be accepted for publication is solely at the panded term. Similarly, in the manuscript text, figures, ap- discretion of the editors. Supplementary materials ac- pendices, and tables, a term should be abbreviated only if cepted for publication will not appear in the printed ver- it is used at least 3 times. Abbreviations used in the Struc- sion of the journal but will be posted on the journal’s web- tured Abstract must be defined again in the abbreviations site. Ideally, supplementary materials will be sent with the list. All abbreviations should be derived directly from the AJVR  Instructions for Authors 8

word or words that make up the expanded term. to prevent color shift during production. Abbreviations that appear only in the figures or tables should be defined in the figure or table legend. Except for Additional required materials the abbreviations ELISA, ACTH, EDTA, DNA, and RNA, At the time of manuscript submission, the corre- abbreviations should not be used in titles. sponding author is responsible for ensuring that each au- thor submits a Copyright Assignment Agreement and Au- Products, equipment, drugs, and other materials thorship Form (jav.ma/CAA-AF). Manuscripts will NOT All materials used in the study or referred to in the be considered for publication until a completed author- manuscript should generally be identified by chemical or ship form has been received from each author. generic names or descriptions. A trade name should be The corresponding author is also responsible for sub- included in a lettered footnote if that specific product, mitting copies of any references listed as in press or sub- equipment, or drug was essential for the outcome. Trade- mitted, copies of any abstracts containing information mark and similar proprietary symbols are not needed. from the manuscript that have been published or that have been submitted or are expected to be submitted for pub- MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION lication, copies of any closely related manuscripts or man- Manuscripts must be submitted online at mc. uscripts with substantially similar content that have been manuscriptcentral.com/avma. For manuscripts with multi- published by the authors or submitted for publication, and ple authors, 1 person (referred to as the corresponding copies of signed permission forms from the copyright author for submission purposes) should be selected to be holders if the manuscript contains any tables, illustrations, responsible for submitting the manuscript and handling all or appendices that have been published previously. This correspondence between the journal and the authors up material should be submitted electronically (eg, by scan- to the point of publication. ning and uploading with the manuscript or by uploading the electronic file). Electronic file specifications Manuscripts must be submitted in Microsoft Word Keywords format (.docx) or rich text format (.rtf). Tables should be During manuscript submission, authors will be included at the end of the manuscript in the same elec- prompted to supply keywords to describe the topic of the tronic file; however, if necessary, they can be saved as sep- manuscript to facilitate indexing and aid in the selection of arate files. reviewers. In choosing their keywords, authors must use the list of manuscript keywords available on the AVMA Figures journals website (jav.ma/keywords) and in Manuscript All figures should be saved as separate electronic files Central. with the name of the figure used as the file name (eg, Fig- ure 1); figures should not be embedded in the manuscript. Online submission Gray scale or black and white should be used; color Once electronic files of the manuscript and all of its should be used only when important information would parts have been prepared, the corresponding author otherwise be lost (eg, when certain tissue-staining pat- should log on to the AVMA Manuscript Central website terns are poorly visible in gray scale or when a color-flow at mc.manuscriptcentral.com/avma. If you already have an Doppler ultrasonogram is provided). Simple figures such account with the system, log in with your user ID and as line drawings, bar graphs, and line graphs prepared in password, click on Author Center, and select Click here to Excel should be saved and submitted as .TIF files; how- submit a new manuscript. Follow the instructions for sub- ever, .JPG, .GIF, .EPS, and .BMP files are also acceptable. mitting your manuscript. After submitting your manu- Figures created with software programs that use proprie- script, please check that your user information (including tary graphic formats (eg, SigmaPlot or Statistix) cannot be mailing address, telephone numbers, and email address) is used; most such software programs have the capability to current. If you do not have an account with the system, save figures in one of the aforementioned formats. Mini- click on Create An Account. Fill in all fields carefully; all fields mum resolution for figures is 300 dots per inch when dis- in bold are required. played at the size at which they will be reproduced. A cover letter is not required; however, authors are Digital images (eg, photographs, photomicrographs, given the option of including a cover letter when submit- and radiographs) must be provided at a minimum resolu- ting their manuscripts. The cover letter can be used to tion of 300 dots per inch. Images that are not available in explain the importance of the manuscript as well as any a digital format should be scanned on a flatbed scanner, points that the editor should consider when reviewing the also at a resolution of at least 300 dots per inch when manuscript. Authors who have discussed their manuscript displayed at the size at which they will be reproduced. with an editor prior to submission should indicate this in Files should be saved as .TIF files; however, .JPG, .GIF, the cover letter. Authors hoping to meet a particular .EPS, and .BMP files are also acceptable. Color figures deadline, such as those needing an acceptance letter by a should be submitted in CMYK, rather than RGB, format certain date to meet board requirements, may indicate AJVR  Instructions for Authors 9

this in the cover letter. Journal staff will do their best to as they pass peer review. Adherence to these author in- help authors meet their deadline, but cannot guarantee structions and expedient revision and return of manu- this owing to the vagaries of the peer review process. scripts will minimize time from submission to publication. During manuscript submission, authors are also given The time until a manuscript is edited will vary depending an opportunity to indicate preferred and nonpreferred on the number of manuscripts already in line for editing editors and reviewers for their manuscript. Authors’ at the time of provisional acceptance. choices of nonpreferred editors and reviewers are typi- All manuscripts are subject to editing by a scientific cally honored. Those of preferred editors and reviewers editor prior to publication. Editorial changes are made to may or may not be honored, depending on circumstances maintain consistency, improve clarity, smooth transitions, and availability. In research fields in which few experts are or make the report more understandable for the journal’s available for review or in which experts may not be general readership. Other changes are made to comply known by AJVR staff, suggestions of preferred reviewers with the journal’s editorial style, such as placement of su- are appreciated. perscript numbers and letters, use of abbreviations, and formatting of footnotes and references. During editing, PEER REVIEW PROCESS questions may emerge about the intended meaning of The AJVR reserves the right to reject any manuscript. terms or phrases, information that appears to be missing, Manuscripts are reviewed initially by an AVMA scientific and other elements that may have been missed during the editor. Because of the large volume of manuscripts sub- peer review process. mitted to the journal, manuscripts are classified by the ed- The edited manuscript will be returned to the corre- itors on the basis of priority for publication, and those not sponding author to ensure that the editorial changes are judged to be of sufficient priority are rejected promptly. accurate and acceptable and to address any editor que- Manuscripts considered for publication are sent to a min- ries. Concerns regarding editorial changes must be ad- imum of 2 experts for external peer review. Instructions dressed at this stage, not at the galley stage. Authors provided to the external reviewers are available on the should carefully and thoroughly review the edited manu- AVMA website for authors’ perusal (jav.ma/PeerRvw). script, make any additional changes that are necessary, Identity of peer reviewers is kept confidential; identity of and upload the final version to the journal’s online manu- authors is not. script-tracking system. The returned manuscript will be Authors are expected to respond to reviewer com- reviewed by the editor, who will ensure all queries have ments and make appropriate revisions within 14 days (mi- been addressed and then issue a letter of final acceptance. nor revisions) or 21 days (major revisions). Revised man- After final acceptance, manuscripts will be sent to the uscripts may be reviewed again by the original peer re- journal’s production staff for assignment to an issue, viewers or by others when those individuals are unavaila- copyediting, and layout. Once a manuscript has been as- ble. Manuscripts that pass peer review are accepted for signed to an issue and copyedited, the corresponding au- publication provided that authors respond meaningfully to thor will be notified via email regarding when the manu- questions and concerns raised by an AVMA scientific script will be published and when the galley proof will be editor. available for review. The galley proof will be sent via email to the corresponding author (or designee, if alternate ar- SEQUENCE OF PUBLICATION rangements have been made) for approval approximately Once a manuscript has satisfied all reviewer concerns 4 to 6 weeks after the final acceptance letter is issued. and passed peer review, a provisional letter of acceptance Galley changes must be returned within 48 hours. will be issued. Final acceptance is contingent on the au- Changes should be limited to those that affect the accu- thors responding meaningfully to suggestions and ques- racy of the information presented and should not include tions raised by the scientific editor at the time of editing. changes in wording that do not affect overall accuracy of Manuscripts are typically processed for publication in the the report. order that they pass peer review, except for manuscripts An invoice for the $1,000 article publication charge, dealing with emerging or zoonotic diseases, public health, due on receipt, will be emailed to the corresponding au- or biodefense, which are prepared for publication as soon thor approximately 45 days prior to publication.

AJVR  Instructions for Authors 10