Accepted medical and veterinary surgical practice requires
assessment of the physiologic status of the animal on a regular
basis. Vital time for resuscitation can be lost by failure to
notice life threatening physiologic or metabolic problems. The
degree of monitoring sophistication depends on the species, the
extent and duration of the surgical procedure, and whether it is
a survival or terminal procedure. Monitoring can be qualitative,
using the anesthetist's sense of touch, sight and hearing to
evaluate the patient; or quantitative, using instruments for
periodic measurement of specific vital organ performance. The
anesthetic record provides a detailed account of the course of
anesthesia and intraoperative events. Blank record forms are
available from the Office of Veterinary Resources. Whether you
use one of these forms, or one of your own design, it is
important to record data from the pre-operative period, the
induction period, the anesthetic/surgical period and the
immediate post-operative period. Late