Anesthesia

John Donovan1, Patricia Brown2

1 Rhone‐Poulenc Rorer, Collegeville, Pennsylvania, 2 National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland
Publication Name:  Current Protocols in Immunology
Unit Number:  Unit 1.4
DOI:  10.1002/0471142735.im0104s27
Online Posting Date:  May, 2001
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Abstract

Anesthetic agents are used in laboratory animals to prevent pain or distress due to an experimental procedure or for restraint to facilitate a technically difficult procedure. This unit provides three basic protocols: injectable anesthesia for mouse, rat, and hamster; inhalant anesthesia using methoxyflurane for mouse, rat, and hamster; and injectable anesthesia using ketamine/xylazine for rabbit. An Alternate Protocol describes sedation using butorphanol/acetylpromazine in the rabbit. The Commentary further describes and compares these methods of anesthesia for various applications.

     
 
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Table of Contents

  • Unit Introduction
  • Basic Protocol 1: Injectable Anesthesia for Mouse, Rat, and Hamster
  • Basic Protocol 2: Inhalant Anesthesia Using Methoxyflurane for Mouse, Rat, and Hamster
  • Basic Protocol 3: Injectable Anesthesia Using Ketamine/Xylazine for the Rabbit
  • Alternate Protocol: Injectable Sedation Using Butorphanol/Acetylpromazine for the Rabbit
  • Commentary
  • Key References
  • Figures
  • Tables
     
 
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Materials

Basic Protocol 1: Injectable Anesthesia for Mouse, Rat, and Hamster

 Materials
  • Anesthetic of choice (Table 1.4.1)
  • Laboratory balance for weighing the animal
  • 1- or 3-ml syringe with 22-G needle
  • Additional reagents and equipment for handling and restraint (unit 1.3) and intraperitoneal injection (unit 1.6)

Basic Protocol 2: Inhalant Anesthesia Using Methoxyflurane for Mouse, Rat, and Hamster

 Materials
  • Methoxyflurane
  • Gauze or cotton sponges
  • Closed glass container with raised floor
  • Empty syringe case or 50-ml centrifuge tube (optional)

CAUTION: All procedures with methoxyflurane should be conducted in a fume hood or safety cabinet that continuously exhausts anesthetic gases away from personnel.

Basic Protocol 3: Injectable Anesthesia Using Ketamine/Xylazine for the Rabbit

 Materials
  • 20 mg/ml xylazine (see Table 1.4.2 for sources)
  • 100 mg/ml ketamine×HCl (see Table 1.4.2 for sources)
  • Sterile saline or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS; appendix 2A)
  • 5-ml syringe with 22- to 25-G needle
  • Warm water recirculating blanket (optional)

Alternate Protocol: Injectable Sedation Using Butorphanol/Acetylpromazine for the Rabbit

 Materials
  • 10 mg/ml butorphanol
  • 10 mg/ml acetylpromazine
  • 1- or 3-ml syringe with 22- to 25-G needle
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Figures

  •  FigureFigure 1.4.1 Nose cone for supplementation of metophane anesthesia.
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Videos

Literature Cited

Key References
    Green, C.J. 1987. Anesthesia and analgesia. In Laboratory Animals: An Introduction for New Experimenters (A.A. Tuffery, ed.) pp. 261-301. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, England.
    Manning, P.J., Ringler, D.H., and Newcomer, C.E. (eds.) 1994. The Biology of the Laboratory Rabbit, 2nd ed., ACLAM Series, pp. 104-105. Academic Press, San Diego.
    White, W.J. and Field, K.J. 1987. Anesthesia and surgery of laboratory animals. In The Veterinary Clinics of North America, Small Animal Practice, Exotic Pet Medicine,17:5 (J.E. Harkness, ed.) pp. 989-1017. W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia.
    Wixson, S.K. and Smiler, K.L. 1997. Anesthesia and analgesia in rodents. In Anesthesia and Analgesia in Laboratory Animals (D.F. Kohn, S.K. Wixson, W.J. White, and G.J. Benson eds.) pp. 165-200. Academic Press, San Diego.
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