Avoiding undue cortisol responses to venipuncture in adult male rhesus macaques (1991)

Reinhardt, V., Cowley, D., Eisele, S. et al.

Abstract

Six adult rhesus males were: a) habituated to actively cooperate during venipuncture away from the homecage in a treatment squeeze cage, and b) trained to actively cooperate during venipuncture in the homecage.The magnitude of cortisol increase was significant when the males were venipunctured in the hallways but not when they were venipunctured in the homecage. It was concluded that venipuncture per se was not a physiologically distressing event. It became distressing only when it was associated with a temporary removal from the homecage.