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Abstract

Medicine

Modified Tail Vein and Penile Vein Puncture for Blood Sampling in the Rat Model

Published: June 30th, 2023

DOI:

10.3791/65513

1Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, 2Harvard Medical School, 3Shriners Children’s Boston, 4Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, 5Department of Vascular Surgery, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and University of Lausanne, 6Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, 7Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Rennes University Hospital Center (CHU de Rennes), Rennes 1 University, 8Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, 9Plastic Surgery Research Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital

* These authors contributed equally

Abstract

Blood samples are required in most experimental animal designs to assess various hematological parameters. This paper presents two procedures for blood collection in rats: the lateral tail vein puncture and the dorsal penile vein puncture, which offer significant advantages over other previously described techniques. This study shows that these two procedures allow for fast sampling (under 10 min) and yield sufficient blood volumes for most assays (202 μL ± 67.7 μL). The dorsal penile vein puncture must be done under anesthesia, whereas the lateral tail vein puncture can be done on a conscious, restrained animal.

Alternating these two techniques, therefore, enables blood draw in any situation. While it is always recommended for an operator to be assisted during a procedure to ensure animal welfare, these techniques require only a single operator, unlike most blood sampling methods that require two. Moreover, whereas these previously described methods (e.g., jugular stick, subclavian vein blood draw) require extensive prior training to avoid harm to or death of the animal, tail vein and dorsal penile vein puncture are rarely fatal. For all these reasons, and according to the context (e.g., for studies including male rats, during the perioperative or immediate postoperative period, for animals with thin tail veins), both techniques can be used alternately to enable repeated blood draws.

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Keywords Modified Tail Vein

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