1 Division of Laboratory Animal Science, Biomedical Technology Wing, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, India.
2 Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Lab Anim. 2018 Jun;52(3):253-264. doi: 10.1177/0023677217741332. Epub 2017 Nov 22.
This study was conducted to investigate the effects of blood sampling on animal welfare in a total of 60 NTac:SD rats and 72 C57BL/6NTac mice of both sexes. Blood was sampled either by sublingual vein puncture, tail vein puncture or by retrobulbar plexus/sinus puncture under light isoflurane anaesthesia and, additionally, by facial vein puncture in mice. Non-punctured animals as well as isoflurane-anaesthetised animals were used as controls. Pre- and post-puncture sucrose intake (1.5% w/w) was measured in rats, and nest building scores were studied in mice for 24 h post-puncture. Post-puncture activity and anxiety levels of rats and mice were measured using an elevated plus maze test and an open field test. Stress levels 24 h post-puncture were assessed by analysing faecal corticosteroid metabolites. Sucrose intake and faecal corticosteroid levels were not affected by the blood sampling procedures. Rats showed reduced activity in the open field test and an increased level of anxiety in the elevated plus maze test following retrobulbar plexus puncture and isoflurane anaesthesia. In mice, nest building activity was affected in all the groups compared with the control group, except for animals subjected to facial vein puncture. Retrobulbar sinus puncture, tail vein puncture and sublingual puncture in mice resulted in reduced activity and increased anxiety. We conclude that, of the tested methods, puncture of the tail vein and the sublingual vein have the least adverse effects in rats, whereas facial vein puncture had the least adverse effects on the welfare parameters in mice.
本研究共对 60 只 NTac:SD 大鼠和 72 只 C57BL/6NTac 雌雄小鼠进行了采血对动物福利影响的研究。采血方式为舌下静脉穿刺、尾静脉穿刺或在异氟烷轻度麻醉下经眶后丛/窦穿刺，此外，还对小鼠进行眶面静脉穿刺。非穿刺动物和异氟烷麻醉动物作为对照。在大鼠中，测量了穿刺前后（1.5%w/w）蔗糖的摄入量，并在穿刺后 24 小时研究了小鼠的筑巢评分。使用高架十字迷宫试验和旷场试验测量了穿刺后大鼠和小鼠的活动和焦虑水平。穿刺后 24 小时通过分析粪便皮质类固醇代谢物来评估应激水平。蔗糖摄入量和粪便皮质类固醇水平不受采血程序的影响。与对照组相比，经眶后丛穿刺和异氟烷麻醉后，大鼠在旷场试验中的活动减少，在高架十字迷宫试验中的焦虑水平增加。在小鼠中，与对照组相比，除了接受眶面静脉穿刺的动物外，所有组的筑巢活动均受到影响。与对照组相比，经尾静脉和舌下静脉穿刺以及眶窦穿刺的小鼠活动减少，焦虑增加。我们得出结论，在所测试的方法中，尾静脉和舌下静脉穿刺对大鼠的不良影响最小，而眶面静脉穿刺对小鼠的福利参数的不良影响最小。
