Experimental staphylococcal endocarditis: an overview.

In 1970 Freedman and co-workers presented a reproducible, simple and inexpensive animal model of endocarditis based on an insertion of an indwelling catheter inside the heart. Using this model a large body of information was accumulated from single or combined antibiotic treatment of experimental staphylococcal endocarditis in animals. The scope and limitations of this model relative to the experimental design is discussed, and future trends in experimental staphylococcal endocarditis research are pointed out.