Cadaveric Porcine Spines as a Model for the Human Epidural Space.

Most patients who undergo epidural anesthesia are pregnant and thus a protected population, which has limited investigations of the human epidural space. Among the several species studied as models for the human spine, the porcine spine has been used as a model for spine instrumentation. Although the spread of colored dye within the porcine epidural space has been investigated, no model has demonstrated in situ spread by using radiopaque contrast dye.

A Pilot Study of Four Intraosseous Blood Transfusion Strategies.

Background: Intraosseous (IO) access is used by military first responders administering fluids, blood, and medications. Current IO transfusion strategies include gravity, pressure bags, rapid transfusion devices, and manual push-pull through a three-way stopcock. In a swine model of hemorrhagic shock, we compared flow rates among four different IO blood transfusion strategies.

Antibody production in rabbits administered Freund's complete adjuvant and carprofen concurrently.

Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) is a commonly used immunopotentiator that can boost polyclonal antibody production in animal models such as rabbits, but FCA is also known to cause inflammation and pain. It is important to balance the welfare of animals with the goal of efficiently producing antibodies, but little is known about how common treatments for pain and inflammation, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), affect the production of polyclonal antibodies. The purpose of this study was to measure polyclonal antibody production in rabbits that were administered FCA either with or without a concurrent treatment of a NSAID, carprofen.