Davide Gamba, Sara Maran and Francesco Staffieri will be the speakers at the ISVRA advanced session on mechanical ventilation in small animals. The session will be part of the ISVRA programme at the 2011 Merial Congress. Main topics will be: volume controlled vs pressure controlled ventilation in the surgical patient, haemodynamic and respiratory effects of PEEP, and techniques for long-term postoperative ventilatory support .