Rat

Laboratory environmental factors and pain behavior: The relevance of unknown unknowns to reproducibility and translation

The poor record of basic-to-clinical translation in recent decades has led to speculation that preclinical research is “irreproducible”, and this irreproducibility in turn has largely been attributed to deficiencies in reporting and statistical practices. There are, however, a number of...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Mogil, J. S. 2017. Laboratory environmental factors and pain behavior: The relevance of unknown unknowns to reproducibility and translation. Lab Animal 46(4), 136-141.

Effects of metabolic cage housing on rat behavior and performance in the social interaction test

Although the metabolic cage is commonly used for housing nonhuman animals in the laboratory, it has been recognized as constituting a unique stressor. Such an environment would be expected to affect behavioral change in animals housed therein. However, few studies...

Year Published: 2016Topics: HousingAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Whittaker, A. L., Lymn, K. A., Howarth, G. S. 2016. Effects of metabolic cage housing on rat behavior and performance in the social interaction test. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 19(4), 363-374.

Experimental control for the ovariectomized rat model: Use of sham versus nonmanipulated animal

One of 2 models required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for registration of a treatment for osteoporosis, the ovariectomized (OVX) rat model, is widely used in scientific studies investigating sex hormone-deficient bone loss. The use of control nonhuman...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, ReproductionAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Kruger, M. C., Morel, P. C. H. 2016. Experimental control for the ovariectomized rat model: Use of sham versus nonmanipulated animal. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 19(1), 73-80.

A rat-friendly modification of the non-invasive tail-cuff to record blood pressure

In animal models, blood pressure measurement methods can be either invasive (direct) or non-invasive (indirect). The non-invasive alternative involves applying a tail-cuff for blood pressure measurement. Current standardized restraint methods involve confining the laboratory animal in plastic chambers, which can...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, RestraintAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Lipták, B., Kaprinay, B., Gáspárová, Z. 2017. A rat-friendly modification of the non-invasive tail-cuff to record blood pressure. Lab Animal 46(6), 251-253.

PhenoWorld: Addressing animal welfare in a new paradigm to house and assess rat behaviour

The use of animals is essential in biomedical research. The laboratory environment where the animals are housed has a major impact on them throughout their lives and influences the outcome of animal experiments. Therefore, there has been an increased effort...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Castelhano-Carlos, M. J., Baumans, V., Sousa, N. 2017. PhenoWorld: Addressing animal welfare in a new paradigm to house and assess rat behaviour. Laboratory Animals 51(1), 36-43.

Refinement of a model of repeated cerebrospinal fluid collection in conscious rats

The cannulation of the cisterna magna in rats for in vivo sampling of cerebrospinal fluid serves as a valuable model for studying the delivery of new drugs into the central nervous system or disease models. It offers the advantages of...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological MeasurementAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Amen, E. M., Brecheisen, M., Sach-Peltason, L. et al. 2017. Refinement of a model of repeated cerebrospinal fluid collection in conscious rats. Laboratory Animals 51(1), 44-53.

Osteotomy models – the current status on pain scoring and management in small rodents

Fracture healing is a complex regeneration process which produces new bone tissue without scar formation. However, fracture healing disorders occur in approximately 10% of human patients and cause severe pain and reduced quality of life. Recently, the development of more...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Lang, A., Schulz, A., Ellinghaus, A. et al. 2016. Osteotomy models – the current status on pain scoring and management in small rodents. Laboratory Animals 50(6), 433-441.

Morbidity scoring after abdominal surgery

Postoperative monitoring of pain and distress in small rodents is not standardized, and widely accepted score sheets are not available. Here we describe a score sheet used in abdominal surgery of rodents, with particular reference to procedures involving the liver.

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Graf, R., Cinelli, P., Arras, M. 2016. Morbidity scoring after abdominal surgery. Laboratory Animals 50(6), 453-458.

Recommendation for severity assessment following liver resection and liver transplantation in rats: Part I

Score sheets were first introduced 30 years ago to assess pain, distress and suffering in animals. To date, however, there is still no general agreement on their use in research practice, and only a few publications can be found on...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Kanzler, S., Rix, A., Czigany, Z. et al. 2016. Recommendation for severity assessment following liver resection and liver transplantation in rats: Part I. Laboratory Animals 50(6), 459-467.

Euthanasia using gaseous agents in laboratory rodents

Several questions have been raised in recent years about the euthanasia of laboratory rodents. Euthanasia using inhaled agents is considered to be a suitable aesthetic method for use with a large number of animals simultaneously. Nevertheless, its aversive potential has...

Year Published: 2016Topics: EuthanasiaAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Valentim, A. M., Guedes, S. R., Pereira, A. M. et al. 2016. Euthanasia using gaseous agents in laboratory rodents. Laboratory Animals 50(4), 241-253.