Comparison of sublingual, facial and retro-bulbar blood sampling in mice in relation to animal welfare and blood quality

摘要

Introduction: Repeated blood sampling is a common procedure in laboratory mice, but at present it is unknown which technique has the least impact on the animals when large or repeated blood samples are required. Retrobulbar sinus puncture is a reliable technique but has been shown to cause many changes in the animals, why sublingual and facial vein puncture have been suggested as suitable alternatives. This study investigated 1) which of the three blood sampling techniques had the least impact on nest building activity, level of faecal corticosterone metabolites, body weight, fur status, and macroscopic changes, 2) whether the blood sampling techniques gave rise to variation in blood quality between blood samples, and 3) whether sublingual and facial vein puncture should be performed with or without anaesthesia in female C57BL/6 mice.