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About the issue of long term cannula in rats...
we place the cannula (Clay Adams, PE-50) in the rats right juglar. Pass it
subcutaneously to the mid-scapular region of the rat, where we suture it into
place using silk thread. The "free" end of the cannula we first tap it shut
with clay or putty, sealing it and avoiding loss of blood. Then we re-insert
it sub-cutaneously into the back region of the rat. All along we would
occassionaly flush the cannula with heparinized normal saline.
This has proven satisfactory, for the cannula does not become obstructed nor
can the rat reach into its own body to bite the cannula. We have been able
to keep this setup for several days with a high rate of sucess.
Also, we found that "installing" odd contraptions around or on the rat to
protect the cannula, alter the rats stress level. Which you all know may
very well affect the kinetics of the studied drug, due mainly to the
physiological changes in the rat.
Good luck,
Alfred R. Sancho
USC PK-Imaging Ctr.
Los Angeles, CA
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Copyright 1995-2010 David W. A. Bourne (david@boomer.org)