Age-related incidence of spontaneous non-neoplastic lesions in a colony of Han:AURA hamsters.

In toxicologic testing or experimental studies using animals, an adequate knowledge of spontaneously occurring lesions is required. 144 male and 184 female untreated Syrian golden hamsters (strain Han:AURA) were kept for life under standard laboratory conditions and an investigation of non-neoplastic lesions in relationship to the lifespan was performed. The average lifespan of the males was 106 weeks and that of the female hamsters 97 weeks.