The Animal Resources Center (ARC) is a limited-access, centralized laboratory animal facility which serves as the principal facility for the care, use and production of laboratory animals on the campus of Montana State University. This 18,000 square ft. signal story building was completed in 1984 and adjoins Lewis Hall and Cooley Laboratory which house the Departments of Microbiology and Biology. Access is through these buildings or an outside walkway which parallels the west side of the building. Parking spaces labeled "Special Permit Only" are located just east of the ARC loading docks and are reserved for off-campus users (e.g., Veterinary Molecular Biology Laboratory) of the Center. Please notify the ARC office (x6803) if these spaces are not available.
Most space within the Center is designated for the housing of clean conventional animals on experiment or in production colonies. There are 23 housing rooms for this purpose plus two quarantine rooms. A six-room wing of the center is designated as a containment area and designed primarily for the maintenance of animals inoculated with infectious organisms, radioisotopes, or known carcinogens. Clean conventional animals are also housed in this area when space permits. Procedures for the use of this area are described in a later section of this manual.
Air supplied to the Animal Resources Center passes through a series of preliminary filters before final filtration through High Efficiency Particulate Air (H.E.P.A.) filters and charcoal filters. There is partial recirculation and filtration of air within the conventional housing area, but all air from the containment area is 100 percent exhausted through separate H.E.P.A. filters to the outside. All H.E.P.A. filters are certified annually. Temperature within animal rooms can be controlled within a range of 65 F to 80 F, +/- 2 F. An auxiliary emergency generator is available in the event of a power outage.
Support areas for the Center include administrative offices, a conference room, cage washing facilities, feed, bedding and cage storage areas, a diagnostic laboratory and clean and dirty shipping and receiving docks. A surgical suite, procedural areas and a necropsy room are also available and may be reserved for use by research investigators upon request by calling X 6809.
A. Vice President for Research
The Vice President for Research is the designated University official responsible for providing the required assurance to federal granting and regulatory agencies. Such assurance mandates that the care and use of animals used in research, teaching and testing at Montana State University meet all current standards and regulatory requirements. The Vice President appoints the required Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).
B. Attending University Veterinarian - Responsibilities
1. Direct the operation and all services of the Animal Resources Center,
2. Oversee the care and utilization of all research animals on the MSU campus,
3. Provide advice and consultation regarding the appropriate procedures for anesthesia, aseptic surgery, control and treatment of diseases affecting laboratory animals, and euthanasia. When appropriate establish written guidelines for the above procedures and distribute them to research investigators.
4. Teach courses and give seminars in the proper care and utilization of research for technicians, graduate students and faculty,
5. Chair the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
All laboratory animals are housed in a manner that meets or exceeds space recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, 1996 edition. These recommendations have been used to establish the maximum permissible number of animals to be housed per cage based on floor area/animal and body weight range. This maximum number/cage size is posted on protocol sheets located on the door to each animal room. If a particular experimental protocol should require group-housing animals in numbers which exceed these maximum numbers, such requirements should be justified on the Project Review Form, prior to the onset of the study and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
All unopened feed bags are stored on pallets in an insulated feed room at a temperature of 60o F. Feed is mill-dated and rotated so that feed which is more than six months past the date of manufacture is not used. Once opened, feed is stored in closed plastic containers within individual animal rooms. Personnel from the ARC will feed special diets required by the experimental protocol upon request.
N.P.O. (Non per os) - If it is required that an animal or group of animals be held off feed and/or water for a brief time period as part of the experimental procedure, the investigator or technician should make this request through the ARC supervisor so that cages housing the designated animal(s) are properly labeled and personnel are informed of the requirement for restricting feed and/or water. Brightly colored tape labeled Do Not Feed or Do Not Water, will be affixed to the top of the feeder or water bottles by ARC personnel for the period of the time that the animals are to be deprived of feed and/or water. Protocols requiring prolonged food deprivation of neonates for more than three hours, over 36 hours for ruminants, or food deprivation for more than 12 hours in any species must be described in the Project Review Form and receive prior approval of the IACUC.
1. Rodents
All mice and rats are fed one of two diets ad lib depending on the requirements of the study or production colony. These diets are Purina Rodent Laboratory Chow 5001 or Purina PicoLab Rodent Chow 20-5053 an irradiated sterile rodent diet. The diet being fed in each animal room is posted on the protocol sheet located on the door to each animal room. Information on the composition of these diets is available in the office of the ARC.
2. Rabbits
Rabbits are fed high fiber pellets once daily. Because caged laboratory rabbits tend to become obese if fed ad lib, the quantity of feed fed each caged rabbit is limited to approximately four ounces per day. Because of their increased activity, group-housed rabbits are weighed every other week and the amount of feed provided in the community, trough-type feeders adjusted accordingly. Feeders may be empty when observed by the research investigator or technician, especially in the latter part of the day or early morning prior to feeding. The rabbit diet is also supplemented with straw to provide additional fiber. Additional feed or supplements should not be added to rabbit diets unless it is approved as part of the experimental protocol and cleared through the Supervisor of the ARC.
It is generally recommended that only hardwood bedding be used for direct contact bedding because of the high resin content of softwood bedding and possible induction of hepatic microsomal enzymes in experimental rodents. A survey of MSU research investigators, however, indicated that the use of softwood (pine) bedding would not have any significant impact on experimental data generated from animals so housed. Consequently, since hardwood bedding must be procured in 1000-bag lots from the eastern portion of the U.S. at a greatly increased cost, autoclaved softwood bedding is normally used as direct contact bedding for rodents. A limited amount of hardwood bedding is kept in stock if required for specific studies. Investigators should discuss specific bedding requirements with the ARC supervisor. All direct contact bedding, regardless of type, is autoclaved prior to use, either in bulk or in pre-bedded, wrapped cages.
All water supplied to production colonies is autoclaved. However, water supplied to experimental colonies is generally not pre-treated unless requested. It is generally recommended that mice on irradiation studies or other experiments causing severe immunosuppression be provided with acidified water to prevent overgrowth of Pseudomonas sp. and the so-called "early death syndrome". ARC personnel will provide acidified water to experimental animals upon request. Water is supplied to floor-housed rabbits via several "lixit" valves connected to elevated 20 gallon plastic reservoir.
The schedule for sanitation of rooms, cages, bottles and cage racks is posted on the door of each respective animal room. The schedule for changing cages and bedding is based on generally recognized guidelines for maintaining animals in a sanitary environment. Since high ammonia levels within cages may predispose animals to respiratory infections and have other deleterious effects, the staff of the ARC periodically monitor ammonia levels within the microisolator cages using a Samplair Pump and ammonia detection tubes to determine that the levels of this gas do not exceed a level of 10 ppm just prior to changing of the cages. If the posted schedule for changing cages needs to be increased or decreased to meet specified requirements of experimental protocol, the ARC supervisor should be notified. If, for experimental purposes, cages need to be changed on a more frequent basis than normally required to ensure an appropriate and sanitary environment, the frequency of cage changing can be increased. However, the research investigator will be charged for the increased cost of labor and supplies. It there are any concerns regarding the sanitation schedules or procedures, please contact the ARC supervisor. The following is a general summary of these procedures.
The frequency of cage sanitation varies with the species housed and the number of animals housed per cage. Cage sanitation schedules are posted on the door of each animal room. In general however, all rodent cages are exchanged and cleaned between one and three times per week and litter changed at this time. Following washing procedures, all cages are autoclaved either in bulk or, in the case of cages used in production and specialized care colonies, wrapped in groups of ten, autoclaved and opened only under the laminar flow unit within the animal room.
The stainless steel collection troughs under side-draining rabbit cages are washed daily with a detergent/disinfectant solution. Rabbit cages with bedded collection pans are changed twice weekly, or more frequently if required. Once every 10 days to 2 weeks, the entire cage and cage rack are sanitized at 180o F. in the cage rack washer. In rooms where rabbits are housed directly on the floor on autoclaved bedding, the bedding is picked up twice weekly and replaced with fresh, autoclaved bedding. During one bedding change each week, rabbits are removed from the room and the room is washed and sanitized before placing fresh, autoclaved bedding on the floor.
Each room is equipped with its own dedicated cleaning implements and, with the exception of equipment used in the rabbit rooms, equipment is not shared or passed between animal rooms in order to minimize chances for cross contamination. All rooms housing experimental animals are mopped once daily with a detergent disinfectant solution. Rooms housing production colonies are mopped after each cage change. Walls are washed once monthly with a detergent/disinfectant solution. Following sanitation and prior to returning the animals to the room or placing new animals in a previously vacant room, the entire room is sanitized with a chlorine dioxide sterilant.
ARC personnel are responsible for removal of all soiled bedding and refuse from animal rooms. Soiled bedding from cages is emptied outside of animal rooms on the dirty side of the cage wash area. In order to minimize exposure of animals and personnel to aerosolized waste, bedding is dumped within a HEPA-filtered, negative flow bedding disposal cabinet. Individual trash receptacles are maintained in each animal room for waste paper, etc., and are emptied daily. All needles, blades and sharp objects must be placed in Sharps Disposal Containers labeled for this purpose and located in the procedure rooms. Sharp objects should never be placed in waste baskets because of the risk of injury to personnel disposing of this waste.
2. Animal Carcasses and Tissues
Once humanely euthanatized, animals housed within the Animal Resources Center should be placed within a plastic-lined container in the stainless steel, double-door refrigerator located in Necropsy Room 122. Animals to be saved for necropsy procedures should be so labeled and placed on the top shelf of this same refrigerator.
Once or twice weekly, animal carcasses are transported to the State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for incineration. Animal carcasses should not, under any circumstances, be placed in any on-campus dumpsters.
All bedding, disposable supplies and refuse containing any infectious agents will first be sterilized by ARC personnel in the autoclave located in the exit corridor of the ARC containment area before disposal. Infected animal carcasses should be double-bagged and labeled with a biohazard sticker for incineration at the State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
At the present time, there have been no vermin problems in the animal rooms or feed storage areas of the ARC. Consequently, there are no insecticides or rodenticides used in any animal rooms of the Animal Resources Center. Should it become necessary to use such chemicals, research investigators will be informed prior to their use and given the opportunity to deny use of such chemicals in specific housing areas if it would jeopardize interpretation of experimental data.
H. Animal Identification and Record Keeping
Cage cards are used on all animal cages and include information as to protocol numbers, animal source, strain or stock, names of investigators and pertinent dates such as date of birth.
While it is acceptable for investigators to use these cards for recording experimental information as to dates of inoculations, etc., this should not be the sole method of recording this information in case such cards become lost, destroyed or unreadable. Cage cards used for long-term studies on rabbits are laminated to minimize water damage from washing procedures. Where individual animals or groups of animals need to be permanently identified, the standard ear notching system should be used for laboratory mice and rats. Equipment is available in the ARC and ARC personnel will assist with this technique upon request. All rabbits received in the ARC are ear tagged in the right ear by ARC personnel and the number is recorded on the cage card and in a master log. Investigators and research technicians should cross-check the ear-tag number with the cage card number before performing any experimental procedures and notify the ARC Supervisor of any discrepancy.
I. Provisions for Emergency, Weekend and Holiday Care
ARC personnel provide seven-day coverage for the care and observation of laboratory animals housed in the ARC. At least one member of the ARC staff is at the facility on weekend and holiday mornings for approximately three hours. Hours are normally 8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. depending on the work load.
The names and phone numbers of the ARC Director and the ARC Supervisor are posted on the bulletin board in the hallway outside the ARC office. These individuals should be called in the event of any after-hours emergency.
1. Animal Procurement
To ensure the procurement of healthy animals from licensed vendors and meet reporting and record requirements placed upon the university by federal legislation and granting agencies, all small laboratory animals must be procured through the Animal Resources Center. This includes all mice, rats, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, rabbits, cats, dogs and simian primates. Procurement of wild animals used for research, testing or instructional purposes on the MSU campus should be coordinated through the ARC office since these species, if held in captivity, must also be reported. It is not required that livestock be ordered through the Animal Resources Center unless these animals are to be housed or used within the Center. However, accurate records as to the number of farm animals used in biomedical research annually should be maintained by each department.
To initiate an order for laboratory animals, an animal request form should be completed. Animal Order forms are available on this website or in the ARC office. The following are general guidelines to assist the investigator in the procurement of the various laboratory species:
a) Laboratory Rodents
1) Animal Resources Center Maintained Colonies
The Animal Resources Center maintains a limited number of breeding colonies for the production of laboratory rodents as a service to research investigators. These animals are available on a cost basis for both research and teaching purposes. Colony production is varied according to the expressed needs by research investigators. Therefore, investigators requiring large numbers or specific weight, age or sex requirements from these colonies should inform the ARC Supervisor of anticipated needs as soon as possible. It may be necessary to purchase large numbers of animals or strains of animals not stocked by the ARC from commercial vendors. Small numbers of animals from ARC-maintained colonies are usually available on short notice. However, because the rooms housing ARC-maintained colonies are normally entered only once a day by ARC personnel in a pre-determined order to minimize the chances for cross-contamination, requests for animals from these colonies should be placed at least 24 hours in advance of need.
Using information provided by other user institutions, health surveillance data supplied by the vendor and health surveys performed by the Animal Resources Center, a list of approved, disease-free vendor sources of laboratory sources of laboratory rodents is maintained in the office of the Animal Resources Center. Following completion of an animal request form, orders will be placed by Animal Resources Center personnel by phone. When possible, orders will be combined to defray the cost of shipping charges to each investigator. Delivery time is generally about one week but may be longer for special strains or when specific age or weight parameters must be met. When a regular need can be forecast by a research investigator, a standing order will be established to ensure timely receipt of animal orders.
b) Laboratory Rabbits
All laboratory rabbits are purchased from Myrtles Rabbitry in Thompson Station, Tennessee. This vendor has proven to be a reliable source of Pasteurella-free New Zealand White laboratory rabbits. Cost is dependent on weight ranges and shipping charges, and estimates are available in the office of the Animal Resources Center. Rabbits are shipped from this vendor only on Tuesdays, and order should be placed by the previous Friday. Rabbits will be maintained in quarantine for at least five days prior to any intended use to allow observation as well as acclimatization of the rabbit to the laboratory environment.
c) Dogs, Cats and Simian Primates
Currently, there are no dogs or simian primates used in research or teaching at MSU and only a small number of cats are used annually. All such animals must be obtained through USDA approved sources and under no circumstances shall these animals be accepted as gifts or otherwise procured unless they are processed through the Animal Resources Center to assure compliance with all existing laws and policies. Investigators requiring the use of one of these species must discuss their needs with the Director of Animal Resources.
d) Animals
from Non-Commercial Sources
It is sometimes necessary for research investigators to obtain laboratory animals from other universities, governmental agencies and other non-commercial sources for use in research. In these situations, it is the responsibility of the investigator to obtain suitable health surveillance information from these sources and provide it to the Director of Animal Resources prior to ordering the animals.
e) Wild Animals
The Animal Welfare Act as administered by the USDA has established both reporting requirements and general care and housing standards for animals normally found in the wild state and used for research, testing and experimentation. In addition, Biological Collection Permits from the State Fish and Game Commission are required for obtaining native wildlife. The housing of wild animals on campus must receive prior approval of the IACUC.
2. Animal Receipt and Evaluation Procedures
a) Rodents
1) Personnel will uncrate animals in the clean receiving area and place in sterile microisolator-type cages containing previously autoclaved bedding. Shipping cartons will not be introduced into the animal housing or quarantine areas.
2) Rodents will be placed in a separate, unoccupied animal room previously prepared by use of a sterilant.
3) An animal receipt and quarantine records will be completed by ARC personnel and maintained on the Supervisor's computer for future reference.
4) The animal technician will be responsible for closely observing the health condition upon arrival and for the ensuing quarantine period. Any abnormalities will be immediately reported to the veterinarian and noted on the quarantine record.
5) Investigators should allow at least five days after arrival of laboratory rodents before initiation of any experimental procedures to permit recovery from shipment stress, further assessment of health status and acclimatization to a new diet and environment.
b) Rabbits
1) Personnel will place rabbits in sanitized cages in a quarantine room. Rabbits showing clinical signs such as nasal or ocular discharge, respiratory distress, diarrhea, skin lesions, malocclusion or other signs of disease will be rejected upon arrival and replacements obtained from the vendor.
2) Assuming the rabbits remain normal throughout the five day quarantine period, they will be weighed and ear-tagged at the conclusion of quarantine.
c) Random or Non-Commercial Sources
To ensure that such animals are free of all infectious diseases, quarantine periods may be required to permit sufficient testing to establish the health status of the animals. In general, at least two weeks will be required for the screening procedures. During this time, animals will be housed within one of the negatively-exhausted quarantine rooms.
An animal technician will note the health condition of the animal for the duration of the quarantine period, note abnormalities on the quarantine card and immediately report them to the veterinarian. If, in the opinion of the veterinarian, the health of the animal during the quarantine period renders the animal unsuitable for experimentation, the animal will be replaced by the vendor at no charge to the investigator as long as there has been no experimental manipulation of the animal during this period.
In some cases, extended quarantine periods and testing may be required before animals can be released from quarantine. Because of the highly infectious nature of some adventitious diseases of laboratory animals, procurement of animals from known infected sources will not be permitted in order to safeguard the health of resident colonies and animals on experiment.
d) Wild Caught Animals
Wild animals to be used in research, testing or teaching and housed in the ARC must be placed in quarantine for at least 10 days, checked for internal and external parasites and treated as required. In addition, blood samples will be taken from wild rodents and screened serologically for the presence of viruses to determine that agents infectious to laboratory rodents are not present. If present such animals must be maintained in a quarantine holding area of the ARC for the duration of the study.
e) Separation by Species and Source
Because some animal species may harbor infectious organisms in a subclinical carrier state which are pathogenic to other species housed in close proximity, the mixing of different species in the same animal housing area is usually not permitted. Similarly, though every attempt is made to obtain animals from disease-free sources, animals of the same species from different sources will also be housed in separate rooms as much as possible to minimize the chances of cross contamination. An exception may be made when small numbers of animals of different species or from different sources are experimentally inoculated with the same infectious organisms and the experimental protocol dictates the housing of such species in the same room. In this instance, however, the different species of animals will be housed within micro-isolator cages.
B. Surveillance, Diagnosis, Treatment and Control of Animal Diseases
Using information provided by in-house screening procedures, commercial applies and other institutions, an evaluation will be made by the veterinarian as to the likely health status of animals from various commercial sources. Procurement of animals from sources known to harbor significant adventitious pathogens will not be permitted.
2. Surveillance of ARC Maintained Rodent Colonies and Experimental Rooms
Approximately every three months, a representative number of sentinel rodents are selected from the various breeding colonies and screened for the presence of infectious diseases. Screening procedures consist of a gross necropsy examination, histopathological evaluation, checking for internal and external parasites, and serological testing for antibodies to the predominant murine viral pathogens, as well as Mycoplasma pulmonis. Health surveillance information is available to all research investigators and will be supplied upon request.
The animal technicians working in each animal room have been trained and instructed to observe animals daily and notify the veterinarian immediately if animals are noted to be injured or show signs of disease. Research investigators and technicians should also bring obvious problems of this nature to the attention of the veterinarian. A list of lists some of the more commonly occurring signs or symptoms that are associated with disease, injury and/or pain in animals is appended. In addition, though there can be other causes, unexpected experimental results may sometimes be an indication of a latent viral or bacterial infection of animals and such results should be brought to the attention of the veterinarian so that the problem might be investigated further. A list and brief discussion of research complications associated with adventitious infections of rodents should be referred to for further information on this topic.
When an animal requires treatment or euthanasia, every attempt will be made to first discuss the problem and recommended course of action with the involved investigator. However, if the principle investigator or the individual responsible for the experimental protocol is unavailable, the veterinarian must exercise his responsibility to institute treatment or euthanasia to prevent undue suffering of the animal.
It is usually accepted, either intuitively or scientifically, that animals feel noxious stimuli in much the same way as do humans. This, therefore, must be one of the guiding principles in determining whether or not the use of a pain relieving drug is indicated. The American Physiology Society has defined stimuli as potentially painful to animals if those stimuli are detected as pain in humans, if they approach or exceed tissue damaging proportions or the stimuli produce escape behavior in animals. This judgment must also be based on the species and individual character of the particular animal and the duration of the procedure. It is required by federal law and policies of granting agencies that each proposed and ongoing protocol be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) to ensure that the type and amount of anesthetic, analgesic or tranquilizing drug used on animals during experimentation is appropriate to relieve pain and distress for the subject animals. In those rare instances where such an agent cannot be used, the IACUC must be provided with adequate scientific information by the investigator to justify the omission of such agents from a study causing pain or distress.
2. Policy on the use of Paralytic Drugs
It is a general University policy as well as a requirement of the Federal Animal Welfare Act that paralytic drugs without accompanying use of an appropriate anesthetic or analgesic are strictly prohibited when surgery or other painful procedures are to be performed on unanesthetized animals paralyzed by such chemical agents. A paralytic drug is defined as a drug which causes partial or complete loss of muscle contraction and which has no analgesic properties, so that the animal cannot move, but is completely aware of its surroundings and can feel pain.
In general, the use of anesthetic or analgesics are indicated whenever the experimental procedure is likely to cause more pain and distress in the subject animal than that associated with the administration of such drugs. The types and amounts used shall be sufficient to relieve all unnecessary pain and distress consistent with the protocol or design of the experiment. It is the responsibility of the principal investigator to seek guidance from the veterinarian in selecting the appropriate anesthetic and analgesic.
In selecting an anesthetic agent for experimental animals, consideration must be given to the objectives of the experiment and possible undesirable effects of these drugs. Consideration should be given to requirements such as: anesthetic duration, recovery time, degree of analgesia and muscle relaxation, availability of equipment and personnel and the pharmacodynamics of the anesthetic on the organ systems being studied. Although it may be difficult or impossible to identify an anesthetic which does not effect several physiological parameters being monitored in an experimental procedure, agents known to have pronounced effects on organ systems being studied should be avoided. As an example, phenothiazine-derived tranquilizers should be avoided in studies where measurement of blood pressure is critical because of the hypotensive effects of such agents.
Some of the anesthetic combinations used in laboratory animals may have distinct advantages over the use of single agents by facilitating restraint or induction, improving muscular relaxation or increasing analgesia. However the pharmacodynamics of anesthetic combination is more difficult to predict because of the various drug interactions.
To assist the research investigator, tables for the use of anesthetics and analgesics in the more commonly used research species on the MSU campus are included. Information on anesthesia and analgesia in other domestic and wild species is available through the veterinarian, and several texts on animal anesthesia are available through the ARC library.
The dosages provided are intended as a guide for selecting anesthetics for research animal species. The response to a given anesthetic or analgesic is dependent upon many variables including species, strain, sex, age, weight, fluid balance, nutritional state, degree of obesity and health status. The most accurate method of administering an anesthetic is normally via the intravenous route to effect. Since this is not practical in many of the smaller rodent species, intramuscular or intraperitoneal inoculation of the anesthetic based on known dosages is the more usual method of administering agents to these species. Dosages listed represent the lowest and highest levels normally recommended and are expressed as mg/kg unless otherwise noted. In some cases, the dose range reflects dose-dependent responses varying from sedation to surgical anesthesia. Additional information regarding the pharmacodynamics, adverse effects and contraindications for each anesthetic or analgesic is available through the ARC office. The veterinarian is also available to assist the researcher with particular anesthetic protocols or problems.
D. Survival Surgery and
Post-Surgical Care
1. Non-Rodent Mammalian Species
Surgical procedures on animals must be performed or directly supervised by
individuals fully qualified by training and experience. When survival of
the animal is intended, personnel must demonstrate the knowledge and capability
to perform such procedures in an aseptic manner.
Aseptic procedures must be performed on most animals, including lagomorphs, that undergo major survival surgery. Major survival surgery is defined as any surgical intervention that penetrates a body cavity or has the potential for producing a permanent handicap in an animal that is expected to recover. Aseptic techniques must include surgical hand scrubbing of the surgeon, the wearing of sterile surgical gloves, gowns, caps, and face masks, the use of sterile instruments and aseptic preparation of the surgical site.
To facilitate the performance of aseptic surgical procedures in non-rodent mammalian species and prevent cross contamination, separate functional areas are recommended and include a surgical preparation area for animals, an operating room or rooms, an area equipped with surgical sinks which is apart from the operating room and a recovery area for animals. The interior of such facilities must be constructed of materials that are impervious to moisture and easily sanitized. The surgical suite in the Animal Resources Center meets the above requirements and includes an operating room (Room 111), adjoining area with surgical scrub sinks (Room 144) and a room for shaving and initial preparation of the animal (Room 109). Animals may be recovered in their housing areas or procedure room if appropriate warming and supportive therapy are provided. The surgical suite of the ARC may be reserved for use by contacting the ARC Supervisor (x6809). There is no charge for the use of this room unless ARC personnel are required to provide assistance during the procedure, clean the area following surgery or provide other services. Any supplies provided by the ARC will be charged back to the user. At least 48 hours advance notice should be provided for major surgical procedures to ensure availability of the room, personnel, equipment or supplies. When feasible, it is recommended that elective surgical procedures be scheduled early in the morning during the first part of the week to facilitate close observation of animals during anesthetic recovery and the early post-surgical period.
Major survival surgery on rodents does not require the use of a three-room surgical suite but does require that such procedures are performed in a clean area that is easily sanitized and not used for any other purpose during the time of surgery. Room 109 of the ARC is an area suitable for rodent surgery and will be reserved for such use on a 48-hour notice. Though it is conceded that overt post-operative infections are not as noticeable in laboratory rodents as in non-rodents mammalian species, studies have shown that subclinical post-operative infections do occur in rodents and compromise experimental results. Consequently, major survival surgical procedures in rodent species must be performed using sterile instruments, surgical gloves and aseptic procedures. Alcohol is not considered to be a sterilant and should not be used for preparation of surgical instruments. ARC personnel will assist personnel in wrapping and autoclaving surgical instruments in preparation for aseptic surgical procedures.
3. Multiple Surgical Procedures
In accordance with the Public Health Service Policy and the Animal Welfare Act, multiple major survival surgical procedures on a single animal are not permitted unless the procedures are related components of a single research project, appropriately justified by the research investigator and approved by the IACUC. Economic considerations will not be adequate justification if this is the sole rationale for the performance of multiple surgical procedures on a single animal.
Post-surgical care is the principal
responsibility of the research investigator and ARC personnel must be informed
of any intended surgical procedures and provided with a phone number where the
investigator may be reached during the normal work day and after hours. Staff
of the ARC can provide assistance during the post-surgical care period by
providing:
· Administration of supportive fluids and drugs
· Observation and examination of animals during the first seven to ten days following surgery.
· Notification of the investigator and veterinarian in the event of post-operative problems. If the principal investigator cannot be contacted and an animal-related problem requires immediate attention for humane reasons, appropriate treatment or, if indicated, euthanasia, will be performed by the veterinarian.
Though all animals experience a lowering of body temperature when administered
a general anesthetic, small mammals and birds are particularly susceptible to
hypothermia and can lose as much as 10 degrees Celsius of body temperature
within 15-20 minutes of anesthetic induction. Hypothermia can be minimized by
wrapping the animal in an insulating layer of material or provision of an
external heat source. If external heat is provided during the post operative
recovery period, the animal's body temperature should be monitored to avoid
overheating or burning the animal. Staff of the ARC can provide aluminum
-backed thermal wrapping material or other assistance in regulating and
monitoring body temperatures during post operative recovery.