Peritoneal sarcomatosis associated with telemetry implants in Sprague Dawley CD rats: a review of eight cases.

Surgical implantation of radiotelemetric transmitters is a current practice to collect a variety of physiological parameters in unrestrained laboratory animals, and in rodents in particular. In this study, the incidence of peritoneal sarcomatosis arising secondary to surgically implanted telemetry devices (< 15% of implanted Sprague Dawley rats) is considered to represent a significant issue for both animal welfare and data validity in affected animals. Macroscopically, the telemetry-associated fibrosarcomas spread along the visceral and parietal peritoneum and mesentery surrounding abdominal organs.