Table 1.

Physical status classification with definitions for adult bottlenose dolphins enrolled in this study and adapted from the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA PS) classification score for humans.

ASA PS classification	Definition	Bottlenose dolphin examples
I	A normal healthy animal	Healthy, normal body condition, with normal lungs and no history of renal nor hepatic insufficiency, elective surgical procedure
II	An animal with mild systemic disease	Mild diseases without substantive functional limitations. Obese body condition, dental pathology, ocular pathology, mild lung disease, mild musculoskeletal disease (OA), non-clinical heart disease, well controlled dysrhythmias
III	An animal with severe systemic disease	Substantive functional limitations, such as moderate lung disease, active hepatitis, chronic renal disease with treatment, moderate reduction in ejection fraction, malnutrition, gastric foreign body, congenital neurologic or cardiac disease, regional neoplasia
IV	An animal with severe systemic disease that is a constant threat to life	Severe lung and/or heart disease, acute renal disease (severe azotemia and/or uremia from stone obstruction or nephrotoxin), shock, sepsis, DIC, localized ischemic or obstructed bowel, metastatic neoplasia
V	A moribund animal that is not expected to survive without the surgery	Massive trauma, intracranial bleed with mass effect, ischemic bowel in the face of significant cardiac pathology or multiple organ dysfunction
VI	A declared brain-dead animal whose organs are being removed for donor purposes	NA
E	Denotes emergency surgery*

NA, not applicable. ^*An emergency is defined as existing when delay in treatment would lead to significant increase in threat to life or body part (i.e., acute ocular or limb/body trauma).