Clinical Examination of Laboratory Rodents and Rabbits

Abstract

The clinical examination of laboratory rodents and rabbits is a challenging task since these species instinctively conceal signs of sickness to avoid attracting the attention of its predators, as they would in the wild. However, in biomedical research, the need to understand the clinical signs evinced by these animals under experimentation is of paramount importance as it gives a prelude to the course of the experiment. In laboratory rodents, the clinical signs expressed are the sum of the changes in the normal anatomy and physiology of the animal under experimentation. Therefore, it becomes imperative for the investigator to understand the normal in these animals before classifying a change as abnormal. The various regulatory bodies have developed reommendations/guidelines suggesting ways to understand the clinical signs; however, there is no universal source that can clearly define the clinical signs in these animals because the clinical changes can depend on the strain or stock of the animal being used in the research. The chapter will provide a basic idea to the reader on the means to perform a clinical examination in the laboratory rodents employed in research.