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CLINICAL TECHNIQUES
Cyndi Brown, DVM, Column Editor
Blood collection from the tail of a rat
Techniques for blood collection from the rat include puncture of the heart, retro-orbital plexus, jugular vein, saphenous vein, tail blood vessels, carotid artery, abdominal aorta, and vena cava. Most techniques (except saphenous vein and tail blood vessel puncture) require anesthesia. The following discussion focuses on two methods of blood collection ventral tail artery puncture and dorsal or lateral tail vein puncture.
The rat tail contains a dorsal vein, two lateral veins, and a ventral artery (Fig. 1). Either heating the tail or heating the rats core body temperature will cause vasodilation of the tail vessels. Firmly pressing your index finger on the tail 5 cm from the tail tip enhances visibility of the tail vessels. Applying pressure causes the vessels to dilate and is analogous to holding off a forelimb cephalic vein in a dog or cat. The tail vein can be punctured ~3 cm from the tip.
If multiple blood samples are required in either one day or over several days or weeks, the first sample should always be taken from the distal end of the tail. You should then work your way up the tail for additional samples. Taking the first sample from the proximal end of the tail usually results in a perivascular clot and inflamma-
tion that significantly reduces blood flow to the distal portion of the vessel.
TAIL COLLECTION METHODOLOGIES Ventral tail artery punctureA significant advantage of collecting blood from the ventral tail artery is...