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INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS 

  1. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

VETERINARIA is the official scientific journal of the Italian Companion Animal Veterinary Association (SCIVAC) and is published bimonthly by Edizioni Veterinarie (E.V.). Its aim is to promote the spread and development of new ideas and techniques in the field of clinical and veterinary practices, with the ultimate goal of improving and promoting the continuing education of veterinary practicioners.
VETERINARIA publishes literature reviews, original articles, diagnostic corners and clinical cases on different topics related to medicine and surgery of the dog, cat and of other companion animals, as well as short communications from congresses. All papers are peer-reviewed by at least two experts of the sector, chosen by the Editorial Board of the journal, preferably by College Diplomates of the topic of the paper being submitted. The final decision on the publication of manuscripts is taken by the Editorial Board, in the person of the Director; it is understood that the content of published papers is only representative of the personal views of the authors. VETERINARIA accepts manuscripts written in Italian and in English.
Manuscripts must be written in proper Italian or English (British or American English), contain updated information and must not have been previously published or simultaneously submitted to other journals for publication. VETERINARIA selects prospective or retrospective original clinical manuscripts and review articles if they add new information to the current literature or come to innovative or original conclusions. Papers on individual case reports or small case series are considered for publication if the subject matter is particularly unusual or if they contribute with new information to the published literature.
Original articles and clinical cases approved for publication in Italian will be translated into English and published in Italian in the printed journal and in Italian and English on the journal’s website. The translation is performed by VETERINARIA and the authors will be contacted for their approval before publication.
In addition, VETERINARIA also selects short “diagnostic corners” concerning different issues related to the diagnostic workup of companion animals.

  1. MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

All texts must be drafted in digital format (Microsoft Word® 2003 or later versions), with double-spaced, justified text, lines numbered consecutively throughout the manuscript and the text written with Times New Roman font, size 12. Pages must be numbered consecutively, starting from the one with the manuscript title. Figure captions are to be inserted after the bibliography. Files and tables must be submitted as separate files and appropriately identified (e.g., Table 1, Figure 1). Manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines will be excluded from the peer-review process and will be returned to the author for the necessary changes.
Maximum accepted text length is of 3000 words for original papers, 1500 words for clinical cases, 800 words for diagnostic corners and 4000 words for review articles; longer manuscripts may be divided into two parts, specifying clearly in the title how they are divided (Part I, Part II) and the topic or the topics covered in each of the two sections. The initial summary is to be included in the word count while bibliography and captions of tables and figures are excluded; the word count must be indicated by the author on the first page of the manuscript. Texts of different length may be published prior approval from the Editorial Board.
First page: the first page must contain the title of the paper in Italian and English, the authors’ name, academic titles and city of the Institution in which the authors were working in when the paper was written. It must also be specified to which author the text should be sent back to after peer-review and to which email address. It is reminded that only those who have made a substantial contribution to the idea, to the experimental design, acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data, who have participated in the drafting or critical revision of the article and who have agreed on the text to be published actually qualify as authors of a paper. Any collaborators who do not meet authorship criteria must be mentioned in the “Acknowledgments” section.
If the work has been presented at a conference or at another professional meeting this information must be reported at the end of the first page.
Second page: the second page must include a summary, in Italian and English, of maximum 250 words each. In the case of original articles, the summary must be structured as follows: Introduction and aim of the study, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion. For clinical cases and review articles it is sufficient to provide a summary in Italian and English (maximum of 150 words each) summarizing the case under study or the highlights of the review article, without division into sections. Key words must be in Italian and English, in a number between three and six and must reflect the content of the work. 

Structure of the article
Literature review articles
The article’s structure will vary depending on the content. For each literature review article, a number of 1-2 authors is expected. A minimum of 4 figures and a maximum of 15 figures is required. The inclusion of algorithms and boxes designed to clarify specific aspects of the subject being treated is recommended. A "key sentence" every about 30-50 lines of text is required, starting from the introduction; aim of the KEY SENTENCES is to attract the reader's attention on the most important aspects of the review. It is better for the key sentences not to be identical to the text from which they are being taken. Key sentences must be 10-30 words long and must be added at the end of the text, just after the bibliography, as follows: Lines 54-104: sentence of 10-30 words; Lines 104-154: sentence of 10-30 words… continuing until the end of the text.
Authors may submit videos (numbered as above) to the journal’s secretariat using WeTransfer (https://www.wetransfer.com/), addressing them to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
It is recommended not to send excessively large video files (the ideal duration is of 1-5 minutes). Videos will be uploaded to the Livestream archive and made available to the readers of VETERINARIA at www.scivac.it/veterinaria/.
Captions for any video present will be inserted after the captions for figures.
After the bibliography and the “key sentences”, 3 to 6 "key points" are to be listed, which will be included in a special box at the end of the article. Each "key point" must consist of a short sentence (from 10 to 40 words). The "key points" will summarize the most relevant concepts related to the literature review.
In literature reviews, publication of the authors’ photo is expected. Photos of the authors must therefore be sent to the secretariat, attached to the file being submitted.

Original articles
Original articles are prospective experimental or observational works based on a clear scientific hypothesis. VETERINARIA advocates studies that have a clear and direct applicability for clinical veterinarians. As far as possible, randomized clinical trials (RCTs) should follow the CONSORT guidelines (available at www.consort-statement.org).
The text of original articles must be structured as follows.
Introduction: it must explain why the work was conceived and which are the aims of the study. Only closely related bibliographic references must be included, without making an extensive review of the subject. Data or conclusions deriving from the study itself should not be included.
Materials and methods: this section must clearly describe the experimental and statistical methods used in the study, in order to allow reproducibility by other authors. For complex statistical analyses a professional statistician should be consulted for advice. Authors are also invited to provide details on the statistical methods and the p-value used in the analysis (e.g., P<0.05; ANOVA). The materials used (instrumentation, reagents, stains, drugs, etc.) must be indicated the first time they are mentioned, with their generic or pharmacological name followed - in brackets - by the trade name®, by the manufacturer and its location (i.e. Advocate® spot-on, Bayer Animal Health, Milan). Trade names are not allowed in the title of the manuscript.
Drug dosages must be expressed according to the following example: 10 mg/kg every 12 hours orally. Abbreviations must be kept to a bare minimum; the first time each term must be written in full, followed by the acronym in brackets. When making reference to haematological, biochemical or serological values, the normal range to which the examination is related to must be indicated.
All research protocols must be approved by the Ethics Committee of the Institution of reference and considered acceptable by the Editorial Board. The research protocol must also comply with the guidelines for Good Clinical Practice, available at: (http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/Scientific_guideline/2009/10/WC500004343.pdf). Any study that has entailed negative treatments or adverse living conditions for the animals involved will not be considered, unless the author can demonstrate that the data thus acquired are of such importance as to justify the hardships imposed on the animals and that appropriate measures were taken to minimize such challenging living conditions. If animals belonging to pet owners were used, the informed consent from the owner must be documented.
Results: results should be presented clearly, concisely and in logical sequence, indicating in brackets the tables and figures to which they refer to. It is not necessary to repeat in the text the data presented in tables or figures.
Discussion: this section must include a summary of the main findings based on the aims of the study and on other related published papers. It must include the implications and limitations of the results obtained, including the possibility of future research, but must avoid to draw conclusions not entirely supported by the results obtained. Should hypotheses be presented, these must be clearly identified as such.
Acknowledgements: these should include support, advice or technical help from collaborators who do not qualify as authors, as well as eventual sponsors of the work described.
Similarly to what is required for literature reviews (see above), also for original articles "key sentences" and "key points" are required.

Diagnostic corners
Diagnostic corners are published on two adjacent pages and concern the following topics: neurology, cytology, diagnostic imaging, cardiology, surgery, ophthalmology, oncology, orthopaedics, emergency care, reproduction, internal medicine, dermatology and medical practice in unconventional animals. A maximum of 2 authors is expected for each diagnostic corner. The first page contains a brief description of the case, with 1-2 figures and/or videos and from 1 to 3 open questions on the case. The second page provides an answer, in a conversational way, to the questions presented in the first page. The second page should include 1 or 2 figures and/or videos. If necessary, the same figures of the first page can be used; the function of the figures is to provide useful elements for a more exhaustive understanding of the clinical case. From 2 to 5 bibliographic references are accepted.

Clinical cases
The text must be divided as follows: introduction, description of the clinical case (medical history, clinical picture, differential diagnoses, diagnostic procedures, therapy and evolution) and discussion. The clinical cases may concern a single case or may involve more cases, separately or as a group. When more cases are described separately, a serial number should be assigned to each case (e.g., Case 1, Case 2). When possible, videos should be included.
Similarly to what is required for literature reviews (see above), also for clinical cases "key sentences" and "key points" are required.

Letters to the Editor
Letters describing clinical cases or related to original topics may be published on VETERINARIA and will be evaluated by a reviewer before publication. Letters commenting papers recently published in the journal may be published and the author of the paper in question will be invited to reply. Letters must be sent by email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (specifying in the subject of the email: "Letter to the Editor").

Bibliography: bibliographic entries must be updated and must be limited to literature relevant to the manuscript being submitted; quotations of non-reviewed sources (conference proceedings, university or doctoral dissertations, etc.) should be reported only if really necessary. References should be listed and numbered in the order of appearance in the text and should be highlighted with superscript numbers, divided between them by a comma and placed immediately after the word, the period or the comma (i.e. text2,5). Bibliographic entries that include more than three authors should report the first three names followed by the abbreviation "et al." in italics.
References to journals must include the non-abbreviated title, using the following examples.
Articles: Murphy CJ, Koblik P, Bellhorn RW et al. Squamous cell carcinoma causing blindness and ophthalmoplegia. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 195:965-968, 1989.
Books: Peiffer RL. Small Animal Ophthalmology: A Problem Oriented Approach. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Co, 1989, pp. 123-135.
Book chapters: Gross SL. Surgery of the eyelids. In: Bojrab MJ. Ed. Current techniques in small animal surgery.
Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger, 1990, pp. 68-82. Conference proceedings: Wilkie DA. The effects of topical flurbiprofen on the canine eye following aqueocentesis. 20th Annual Meeting of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists, New Orleans, 1989, p. 13.
Abstracts from journals: Wiedmeyer C, Solter P, Hoffmann W. Induction of liver alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme by glucocorticoids in hepatic tissue of dogs. Veterinary Pathology 36:482, 1996.
URL: Molecular Expressions Microscopy Primer. Available at: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/faq.html. Accessed October 20, 1999.
Unpublished works: in the case of articles accepted but not yet published or still awaiting printing the author must provide a copy of the cited work or a letter from the authors of the work confirming its existence and consenting their inclusion in the bibliography.

Tables and figures: VETERINARIA allows the use of colour figures at no cost to the author. Tables, graphs and figures must be relevant to the text of the manuscript and contribute to its understanding; they must also be cited in the text. Tables must be numbered consecutively with numbers distinct from those of figures and be accompanied by a short descriptive title and a list of the abbreviations or acronyms eventually used. Tables must be drafted and sent on separate files. Symbols in graphs must be of a font size sufficient to make them readable for publication and be accompanied by a caption. Graphs must be drafted and sent on separate files. Photographs must be in colour, well taken and with a good definition; micrographs must specify the type of dye used and the final magnification. Images must be of good quality, they shold allow to read what is written in the reference caption, and be essential for the understanding of what is described in the text.
The pixel dimensions of the image should be based on the print format selected (figures on one column = 8 cm; figures on two columns = 17 cm).
Offset printing works at 300 DPI (i.e. 300 pixels per inch, equivalent to 120 pixels per centimetre). In general terms, this is the approach to be followed: the print format is selected (8 cm - 1 column, or 17 cm - 2 columns); a print resolution is chosen, maximum 300 DPI. The following formula is used: scanning resolution (DPI) = (side of the final print/side of the original) x 300. When using images coming from digital cameras the reasoning is slightly different as the number of pixels in the image is fixed (it depends on the resolution set when taking the picture). The advice is to always take the pictures at the maximum resolution allowed by the camera.
Figures are to be sent on separate files with the text of the work and numbered in the order in which they appear; captions are to be inserted after the bibliography, numbered in the order of the images and should report in a concise but precise way a description of what is being presented.
Examples of figures:
Clinical image. Figure 1: hind limb of a dog with deep pyoderma, Case 5. Presence of multifocal areas with exudate and scabs on the skin of the lateral side of the hock.
Microscopic image. Figure 1: intact subcorneal intraepidermal pustule, with acantholytic cells and numerous neutrophils. (Hematoxylin-eosin, 40X).
Graph. Figure 1: Comparison of eosinophil count between the control and treatment groups. Bars indicate the mean ± the standard deviation.

  1. ANIMAL WELFARE AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

When required, the author must exhibit in the Materials and Methods section the approval by the Ethics Committee that evaluated the research protocol. The Editor reserves the right to refuse publication on the basis of ethical or animal welfare issues.

  1. SUBMISSION OF THE MANUNSCRIPT

In order speed up and make more efficient the distribution, evaluation and modification of the articles, VETERINARIA accepts manuscripts sent by email to the following address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

  1. REVIEW PROCESS

For each article the judgment of at least two experts on the subject being considered is required, whose names will not be disclosed to the authors of the article. Acceptance of the manuscripts approved by the reviewers is subordinated to the execution of all the scientific and structural changes required. It is up to the authors to provide a paper written in proper Italian or English: articles deemed inadequate from this point of view will not be published on VETERINARIA.
Manuscripts are submitted to peer-review in the order in which they are received; however, at the discretion of the Director of the journal, papers of particular merit or significance may be evaluated with priority over others, in order to favour their more rapid publication. Whenever substantial changes to the work are required, authors are asked to respond to the comments of the reviewers within 30 days of receipt. If the required changes are minimal, the authors are required to respond within two weeks. Together with the revised work, the authors must send to the editorial team of VETERINARIA a letter answering point by point to the reviewers’ comments. The drafts of the accepted work will be sent to the author for final approval before printing and must be approved within 1 week. Authors not agreeing with the reviewers’ opinion on the submitted manuscript can send an email to the Editor This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., explaining their motivations in detail. The decision taken by the Editor of VETERINARIA on a manuscript is to be considered final.

  1. COPYRIGHT

Articles submitted to VETERINARIA must not have been previously published or sent to other journals for publication. Authors must grant to VETERINARIA and to E.V. all rights related to the publication of the article, including for the summary divided into sections; publication of the article will not be possible until all the authors have granted such rights, including those for any drawings, photographs, diagrams or other content taken from texts and covered by previous copyrights.
The copyright and consent form (https://veterinaria.scivac.org/images/Authors_Guidelines/Copyright/COPYRIGHT_Veterinaria_en.pdf) must be signed by the corresponding author, scanned and sent to the editorial board of the journal by e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Authors may allow access to an article published by Veterinaria on their personal home page, provided that the source of the published article is acknowledged and that Veterinaria is indicated as the copyright holder. To do so, authors must create a link to the article published online, at https://veterinaria.scivac.org/ . The link must be accompanied by the following statement:
"The original publication is available at https://veterinaria.scivac.org/ “.
Veterinaria adopts a delayed open-access policy. This means that articles are not initially open-access and become open-access only starting from 6 months after publication. Once the articles have become open-access the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License is applied: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.it .