Post-Procedure Care of Mice and Rats in Research: Minimizing Pain and Distress

This course offers training on post-procedure care of mice and rats in research.

Interested? Demo Course
Scroll Down Arrow


About this Course

 This course offers information on how to minimize pain and distress in mice and rats during and after experimental procedures. It discusses:

  • Detection and monitoring signs of pain in animals
  • The use of animal appearance and behavior, physical condition, and body weight in the monitoring process
  • The role of body temperature and fluid, and electrolyte balance in animal welfare
  • The growth of tumors in the production of pain and distress
  • The alleviation of pain and distress in the post-procedure animal

It is recommended that a learner complete the Working with the IACUC course before taking this course.

View Series Page for FAQs

Language Availability: English

Suggested Audiences: Personnel Working with Mice and Rats in Research

Organizational Subscription Price: Included in Animal Care and Use (ACU) Core series, available as part of an organizational subscription package or for $675 per year/per site as a subscription add-on for government and non-profit organizations; $750 per year/per site as a subscription add-on for for-profit organizations
Independent Learner Price: $99 per person

Demo Instructions


Course Content

Introduction to Post-Procedure Care of Mice and Rats in Research: Minimizing Pain and Distress

Introduces the Post-Procedure Care of Mice and Rats in Research: Minimizing Pain and Distress course.

Recommended Use: Required
ID (Language): 1868 (English)

Investigator Responsibility

Discusses the investigator's responsibilities for minimizing pain and distress in research animals. A concise description of the requirements for the humane care and use of laboratory animals is also provided.

Recommended Use: Required
ID (Language): 1869 (English)

Minimizing Sources of Nonexperimental Variation

Describes the importance and best practices for maximizing the humane care and use of laboratory animals while minimizing confounders (unwanted, uncontrolled experimental variation) to achieve integrity of the research data.

Recommended Use: Required
ID (Language): 1870 (English)

Systematically Monitoring for Pain and Distress

Defines the process of systematically monitoring animals after a procedure or when illness is expected, to reduce non-experimental variation caused by animal pain or distress.

Recommended Use: Required
ID (Language): 1871 (English)

Detecting Clinical Signs of Pain and Distress

Discusses how to detect pain and distress within a rodent. It presents common signs and the proper way to perform a clinical exam on a rodent.

Recommended Use: Required
ID (Language): 1872 (English)

Appearance and Behavior

Outlines the proper process for inspecting the appearance and behavior of rodents. It also presents a common approach to assessing animal appearance through the observation of several parameters.

Recommended Use: Required
ID (Language): 1873 (English)

Physical Exam for Clinical Condition

Discusses physical exams using methods that are appropriate to rodents. It presents specific methods and equipment for rodents, which allow a clinical exam to provide information on animal well-being.

Recommended Use: Required
ID (Language): 1874 (English)

Body Weight

Describes the vital role of monitoring body weight changes in rodents while executing experiments using these animals. It includes the different body condition scores and ways to provide nutritional support to these animals.

Recommended Use: Required
ID (Language): 1875 (English)

Fluid and Electrolyte Balance

Covers the importance of maintaining a fluid and electrolyte balance in rodents during experimental procedures. It also provides a detailed explanation of how to test rodents for dehydration, the process for performing a urinalysis, and the proper treatment for an imbalance of fluids and electrolytes.

Recommended Use: Required
ID (Language): 1876 (English)

Body Temperature

Discusses the importance of maintaining a proper body temperature within rodents during experimental procedures. It also presents information regarding the use of devices and the process for treating hypothermia.

Recommended Use: Required
ID (Language): 1877 (English)

Tumors

Explains how the growth of tumors produces pain and distress in rodents just as in humans and other animals. It includes tumor assessment and the proper treatment for tumors on rodents.

Recommended Use: Required
ID (Language): 1878 (English)

Alleviation of Pain and Distress

Describes the detection and alleviation of pain or discomfort in rodents. It also presents the idea that the effective recognition of pain and distress should not rely on a single clinical observation but rather on a composite of signs and measurements that together reflect animal well-being in terms of pain or distress.

Recommended Use: Required
ID (Language): 1879 (English)

Documentation of Post-Procedure Care

Addresses the documentation of exam findings and treatments. It also analyzes the benefits of using a records management system and a defined scoring system to aid in documenting the status of animals over time.

Recommended Use: Required
ID (Language): 1880 (English)

Summary

Summarizes the Post-Procedure Care of Mice and Rats in Research: Reducing Pain and Distress course.

Recommended Use: Required
ID (Language): 1881 (English)


Learn More

Your Name(Required)
I'd Like To Receive Emails From CITI Program
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.