Technique of Dissection and Extracting Organs of Laboratory Animals. Message 4: Guinea Pig, Gerbil, Degu

DOI: 10.29296/2618723X-2019-02-05

K.E. Koptyaeva, Ya.A. Guschin, E.V. Belyaeva, M.N. Makarova, V.G. Makarov

Research-and-manufacturing company «Home оf Pharmacy»
188663, Russia, Leningradskiy region, Vsevolozhskiy district, Kuzmolovskiy, b. 245, 3, st. Zavodskaya,
Е-mail: [email protected]


Keywords: necropsy pathomorphology

For citation:

Koptyaeva K., Guschin Ya., Belyaeva E., Makarova M., Makarov V. Technique of Dissection and Extracting Organs of Laboratory Animals. Message 4: Guinea Pig, Gerbil, Degu. Laboratory Animals for Science. 2019; 2. https://doi.org/10.29296/2618723X-2019-02-05

Abstract

The fourth message from the series of articles on the methodology of necropsy and extraction organs of laboratory animals, describing in detail and illustrating the technique of sequential and complete autopsy and extraction of organs of laboratory guinea pigs, gerbils and degu. Guinea pigs are often chosen to study the allergenic properties of drugs and to determine the pharmacological activity, for example, in experiments that model hypercholesterolemia, airway hyperresponsiveness, etc. The high susceptibility of gerbils makes it possible to be a model for various infectious diseases. Also on them examine the effect of drugs on the level of steroid hormones and cholesterol. Degus that predisposed to the development of diabetes mellitus are a good model for studying this disease. In addition to this, on them conduct studies of cataracts, atherosclerosis, and Alzheimer's disease. This article demonstrates the procedure for necropsy of laboratory guinea pigs, gerbils, and degu. It describes the process of preparing an animal for an autopsy, conducting a primary examination of a corpse after euthanasia for the presence of external changes and injuries, fixing the corpse on the dissecting table, necropsy and examining the internal cavities of the body, as well as examining the superficial lymph nodes. Possible methods for the extraction of organs of the oral cavity (including extraction of the tongue, pharynx), all organs of the thoracic, abdominal and pelvic cavities are described and illustrated. The topographic location of some organs of the thoracic, abdominal and pelvic cavities is illustrated. Prescribed two ways to extract the brain, the method of separation of the chest bone for histological examination of the bone marrow and upper jaw for histological examination of the nasal passages. The procedure for preparing the spinal cord to formalin fixation without removing it from the spinal canal is described. Eye extraction with the lacrimal gland and eyelids, extraction of muscle and adjacent peripheral nerves is described. The methods of extraction and the sequence of actions performed, described in this article, minimize the damage of the organs being removed and prevent their contamination in order to prevent the occurrence of certain artifacts detected by subsequent histological examination. Conclusions are presented at the end of the article.

Full text available only in Russian

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