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Animal Models of Acute Neurological Injuries pp 47–60Cite as

Veterinary Care Methods for Rats and Mice in Experimental Spinal Cord Injury Studies

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The incidences and causes of traumatic injury to the adult human spinal cord vary throughout the world. Regardless, spinal cord injury (SCI) similarly can result in devastating dysfunctions that lead to tremendous and long-term physical, emotional, and financial hardships not only for the survivor but also for family and friends. For these reasons, both clinical trials1,2 and experimental studies of SCI treatments are taking place. The treatments that are being investigated include ones to protect spinal cord cells or replace them, sprout or regenerate axons, improve endogenous repair mechanisms, and rehabilitate.

Advances in acute and chronic medical care have markedly improved the quality and length of the lives of persons with traumatic SCI.4–7 We feel that veterinary care of spinal cord injured animals should have no less of a goal. Moreover, spinal cord injured animals in optimal acute and chronic health are essential for successful experimental studies of SCI treatments. In this chapter, we will report veterinary care methods to optimize the health of experimental animals, particularly rats and mice, with tetraplegia or paraplegia after cervical or thoracic SCI.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center & Department of Neurological Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA

    Aaron H. Puckett & Christine D. Nunn

  2. Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center & Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

    Stephen M. Onifer

Authors
  1. Aaron H. Puckett
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  2. Christine D. Nunn
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  3. Stephen M. Onifer
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Jun Chen M.D.

  2. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Zao C. Xu M.D., Ph.D.

  3. Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Group Stark Neurosciences Research Institute Department of Neurological Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Xiao-Ming Xu M.D., Ph.D.

  4. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology Department of Neurosurgery Department of Anesthesiology, Loma Linda University Medical School, Loma Linda, CA, USA

    John H. Zhang M.D., Ph.D.

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© 2009 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science + Business Media, LLC

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Puckett, A.H., Nunn, C.D., Onifer, S.M. (2009). Veterinary Care Methods for Rats and Mice in Experimental Spinal Cord Injury Studies. In: Chen, J., Xu, Z.C., Xu, XM., Zhang, J.H. (eds) Animal Models of Acute Neurological Injuries. Springer Protocols Handbooks. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-185-1_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-185-1_5

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-60327-184-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-60327-185-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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