There is an art and science to performing mouse anesthesia, which is a significant component to animal research. Frequently, anesthesia is one vital step of many over the course of a research project spanning weeks, months, or beyond. It is critical to perform anesthesia according to the approved research protocol using appropriately handled and administered pharmaceutical-grade compounds whenever possible. Sufficient documentation of the anesthetic event and procedure should also be performed to meet the legal, ethical, and research reproducibility obligations. However, this regulatory and documentation process may lead to the use of a few possibly oversimplified anesthetic protocols used for mouse procedures and anesthesia. Although a frequently used anesthetic protocol may work perfectly for each mouse anesthetized, sometimes unexpected complications will arise, and quick adjustments to the anesthetic depth and support provided will be required. As an old saying goes, anesthesia is 99% boredom and 1% sheer terror. The purpose of this review article is to discuss the science of mouse anesthesia together with the art of applying these anesthetic techniques to provide readers with the knowledge needed for successful anesthetic procedures. The authors include experiences in mouse inhalant and injectable anesthesia, peri-anesthetic monitoring, specific procedures, and treating common complications. This article utilizes key points for easy access of important messages and authors’ recommendation based on the authors’ clinical experiences.

The surgical stress response and resulting physiologic changes can lead to postoperative complications and negatively impact animal welfare. Although appropriate pain management is crucial to reduce the pain and stress response to surgery, analgesic choice can significantly affect bone and wound healing. This review aims to summarize data from rat and mouse studies and to provide recommendations for integrating analgesia into orthopedic and wound healing models in these species. Data from other species, such as humans, rabbits and other rodents, is included, where available. From these data, we conclude that for orthopedic surgical models, opioids, local anesthetics and dissociative agents have minimal impact on fracture healing; cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) selective nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) may be used in the shortterm; and steroids should be avoided. For wound healing models, short-term systemic or topical opioids have negligible impact on wound healing; NSAID or local anesthetics may be used short-term; and systemic steroids should be avoided. Alternative analgesics such as tramadol, gabapentin, ketamine, and acetaminophen warrant consideration and further evaluation for both orthopedic and wound healing models. In all cases, researchers and veterinarians should work together to determine the appropriate analgesic plan to minimize pain, as well as to minimize unwanted effects on the orthopedic and wound healing models themselves.

The chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has been identified as a major cause of the recent worldwide amphibian decline. Numerous species in North America alone are under threat or have succumbed to Bd-driven population extinctions. The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) has been reported as a tolerant carrier of Bd. In this report, we used a qPCR assay to test 120 archived American bullfrog specimens collected between 1924 and 2007 in California, USA and Baja California, Mexico. The overall prevalence of Bd infection in this archived population of L. catesbeianus was 19.2%. The earliest positive specimen was collected in Sacramento County, California, USA in 1928 and is to date the earliest positive archived Bd specimen reported globally. These data demonstrate that Bd-infected wild amphibians have been present in California longer than previously known.

Appropriate aseptic technique is a crucial component of rodent survival surgery. Ease of technique, surgical space constraint, batch surgery, and cost are factors that may affect researcher compliance with appropriate aseptic technique. The first part of this study compared 3 antiseptic preparation agents with the standard triplicate application of povidone-iodine and alcohol. Euthanized mice (n = 40) were shaved on the dorsum, and culture swabs were taken for RODAC plating and bacterial identification. Shaved sites were prepared by using one of the 4 antiseptic preparation agents. Culture samples were obtained immediately and at 20 min after antiseptic preparation. In the 2nd part of the study, 8 mice (n = 2 per group) were prepared for a survival surgical procedure by using one of the 4 antiseptic preparation agents to evaluate whether the antiseptic preparation agents caused skin irritation or impaired healing. Results from this study indicated that all 3 of the antiseptic agents evaluated were equally effective at reducing bacterial populations immediately and at 20 min after preparation. Histopathologic examination of the incision sites revealed signs of normal healing without lesions adjacent to the incision site. We conclude that all 3 of the products evaluated are comparable to traditional povidone–iodine and alcohol as agents for aseptic preparation of surgical sites.

A new extended-release buprenorphine (XR), an FDA-indexed analgesic, has recently become available to the laboratoryanimal community. However, the effectiveness and dosing of XR has not been extensively evaluated for rats. We investigatedXR’s effectiveness in attenuating postoperative hypersensitivity in a rat incisional pain model. We hypothesized that highdose of XR would attenuate mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity more effectively than the low dose of XR in this model. We performed 2 experiments. In experiment 1, male adult Sprague–Dawley rats (n = 31) were randomly assigned to 1 of the 4 treatment groups: 1) saline (saline, 0.9% NaCl, 5 mL/kg, SC, once); 2) sustained-release buprenorphine (Bup-SR; 1.2 mg/kg, SC, once), 3) low-dose extended-release buprenorphine (XR-Lo; 0.65 mg/kg, SC, once), and 4) high-dose extended-releasebuprenorphine (XR-Hi; 1.3 mg/kg, SC, once). After drug administration, a 1 cm skin incision was made on the plantar hind paw under anesthesia. Mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity were evaluated 1 d before surgery (D-1), 4 h after surgery (D0), and for 3 d after surgery (D1, D2, and D3). In experiment 2, plasma buprenorphine concentration (n = 39) was measured at D0, D1, D2, and D3. Clinical observations were recorded daily, and a gross necropsy was performed on D3. Mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity were measured for 3 d (D0-D3) in the saline group. Bup-SR, XR-Lo, and XR-Hi effectively attenuated mechanical hypersensitivity for D0-D3. Plasma buprenorphine concentrations remained above 1 ng/mL on D0 and D1 in all treatment groups. No abnormal clinical signs were noted, but injection site reactions were evident in the Bup-SR (71%), XR-Lo (75%), and XR-Hi (87%) groups. This study indicates that XR-Hi did not attenuate hypersensitivity more effectivelythan did XR-Lo in this model. XR 0.65 mg/kg is recommended to attenuate postoperative mechanical hypersensitivity for upto 72 h in rats in an incisional pain model.