Refinement Database

Database on Refinement of Housing, Husbandry, Care, and Use of Animals in Research

This database, created in 2000, is updated every four months with newly published scientific articles, books, and other publications related to improving or safeguarding the welfare of animals used in research.

Tips for using the database:

  • This landing page displays all of the publications in the database.
  • Use the drop-down menus to filter these publications by Animal Type, Setting, and/or Topic.
  • Clicking on a parent category (e.g., Rodent) will include publications relating to all the items in that category (e.g., Chinchilla, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, etc.).
  • You may also add a keyword to further narrow your search.
  • Please note that at this time, only publications dated 2010 or later (with some exceptions) can be filtered by Animal Type and Topic, and only publications dated 2020 or later (with some exceptions) can be filtered by Setting. Most publications older than 2010 can only be searched by keyword. 
Chatigny, F., Groman, D. B., Martinson, S. A. et al. 2018. Evaluation of tissue changes following intramuscular infiltration of lidocaine in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. Journal of Fish Biology 92(4), 888-900.

Rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss were infiltrated with either saline or lidocaine adjacent to the dorsal fin to assess histopathological changes. Infiltration was done as if it were being used as a local anaesthetic. Tissue lesions...

Chance, R. J., Cameron, G. A., Fordyce, M. et al. 2018. Effects of repeated anaesthesia on gill and general health of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. Journal of Fish Biology 93(6), 1069-1081.

Fish are the second most widely utilized vertebrate group used for scientific procedures in the United Kingdom, but the development and application of 3Rs (the principles of replacement, reduction, and refinement) in aquaculture disease research...

Fink, D. M., Doss, G. A., Sladky, K. K. et al. 2018. Effect of injection site on dexmedetomidine-ketamine induced sedation in leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 253(9), 1146-1150.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the sedative effects of a combination of dexmedetomidine and ketamine differed when it was administered IM in a hind limb versus a forelimb of leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius). DESIGN Randomized crossover...

Neff, E. P. 2018. Home sweet home cage. Lab Animal 47(10), 261–264.

This feature describes creative ways in which technology can be used to study animals within their home cages, eliminating the need to handle, restrain, and separate them from cage mates. One example includes voluntary brain...

Coursodon, P., Cox, L., Largent-Milnes, T. M. et al. 2018. Enhanced environmental enrichment strategies for retired rhesus macaques. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 6(2) (June), 41-43.

One challenge in providing enrichment to NHP arises following completion of their assigned studies (retired) when there tends to be a sudden decrease in provision of daily human interaction and overall stimulation that results from...

Hohlbaum, K., Bert, B., Dietze, S. et al. 2018. Impact of repeated anesthesia with ketamine and xylazine on the well-being of C57BL/6JRj mice. PLOS ONE 13(9), e0203559.

Within the scope of the 3Rs of Russel and Burch, the number of laboratory animals can be reduced by repeated use of an animal. This strategy only becomes relevant, if the total amount of pain...

Hohlbaum, K., Bert, B., Dietze, S. et al. 2017. Severity classification of repeated isoflurane anesthesia in C57BL/6JRj mice—Assessing the degree of distress. PLOS ONE 12(6), e0179588.

According to the EU Directive 2010/63, the severity of a procedure has to be classified as mild, moderate or severe. General anesthesia is thought to be mild, but the Directive does not differentiate between single...

Döring, D., Nick, O., Bauer, A. et al. 2017. How do rehomed laboratory Beagles behave in everyday situations? Results from an observational test and a survey of new owners. PLOS ONE 12(7), e0181303.

When laboratory dogs are rehomed into private households, they experience an extreme change in their life situation. They leave their familiar, limited environment in the research facility and encounter a multitude of animate and inanimate...

Nehete, P. N., Shelton, K. A., Nehete, B. P. et al. 2017. Effects of transportation, relocation, and acclimation on phenotypes and functional characteristics of peripheral blood lymphocytes in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). PLOS ONE 12(12), e0188694.

Nonhuman primates from domestic sources constitute a small, but critical, proportion of animals studied in research laboratories. Many of these nonhuman primates are raised at one facility and subsequently transported/relocated to another facility for research...

Burke, C. J., Kisko, T. M., Swiftwolfe, H. et al. 2017. Specific 50-kHz vocalizations are tightly linked to particular types of behavior in juvenile rats anticipating play. PLOS ONE 12(5), e0175841.

Rat ultrasonic vocalizations have been suggested to be either a byproduct of physical movement or, in the case of 50-kHz calls, a means to communicate positive affect. Yet there are up to 14 distinct types...

Schmitz, S., Tacke, S., Guth, B. et al. 2017. Repeated anaesthesia with isoflurane and medetomidine-midazolam-fentanyl in guinea pigs and its influence on physiological parameters. PLOS ONE 12(3), e0174423.

Repeated anaesthesia may be required in experimental protocols and in daily veterinary practice, but anaesthesia is known to alter physiological parameters in GPs (Cavia porcellus, GPs). This study investigated the effects of repeated anaesthesia with...

Taylor, S. D., Baird, A. N., Weil, A. B. et al. 2017. Evaluation of three intravenous injectable anaesthesia protocols in healthy adult male alpacas. Veterinary Record 181(12), 322.

Few studies have investigated the effects of intravenous injectable anaesthesia in alpacas. The objective of this study was to evaluate three intravenous injectable anaesthesia protocols in healthy adult alpacas exposed to noxious stimulation. A prospective...

Reupke, V., Walliser, K., Perl, T. et al. 2017. Total intravenous anaesthesia using propofol and sufentanil allows controlled long-term ventilation in rabbits without neuromuscular blocking agents. Laboratory Animals 51(3), 284-291.

The aim of this study was to evaluate a total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) protocol using propofol and sufentanil without neuromuscular blocking agents (NBAs) for a non-recovery lung pathology study in rabbits including 10 h of...

Peric, T., Comin, A., Corazzin, M. et al. 2017. Relocation and hair cortisol concentrations in New Zealand White rabbits. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 20(1), 1-8.

To investigate how long relocation modified hair cortisol concentrations in New Zealand white rabbits, 19 rabbits were subjected to a change in their breeding facility at the beginning of the trial and then were kept...

Zhang, E. Q., Knight, C. G., Pang, D. S. J. 2017. Heating pad performance and efficacy of 2 durations of warming after isoflurane anesthesia of Sprague–Dawley rats (Rattus norvegicus). JAALAS 56(6), 786-791.

Anesthetic agents depress thermoregulatory mechanisms, causing hypothermia within minutes of induction of general anesthesia. The consequences of hypothermia include delayed recovery and increased experimental variability. Even when normothermia is maintained during anesthesia, hypothermia may occur...

Barnett, G. J., Barnett, I. J., Wilson, S. R. 2017. Comparison of 6 injectable anesthetic regimens and isoflurane in gray short-tailed opossums (Monodelphis domestica). JAALAS 56(5), 544-549.

Gray short-tailed opossums are used in a wide variety of research in the areas of developmental biology, oncology, immunology, and comparative biology. Despite many frequent experimental manipulations of these animals under anesthesia, few studies to...

Skorupski, A. M., Zhang, J., Ferguson, D. et al. 2017. Quantification of induced hypothermia from aseptic scrub applications during rodent surgery preparation. JAALAS 56(5), 562-569.

Laboratory mice (Mus musculus) are prone to develop hypothermia during anesthesia for surgery, thus potentially impeding anesthetic recovery, wound healing, and future health. The core body temperatures of isoflurane-anesthetized mice are influenced by the choice...

De Lombaert, M. C. M., Rick, E. L., Krugner-Higby, L. A. et al. 2017. Behavioral characteristics of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) after MS222 anesthesia for fin excision. JAALAS 56(4), 377-381.

The health of laboratory animals is an ethical responsibility of researchers and a critical determinant of experimental outcome. Therefore, all Husbandry & Management procedures should be evaluated for their effects on mortality, behavior, and physiology...

Williams, M. D., Long, C. T., Durrant, J. R. et al. 2017. Oral transmucosal detomidine gel in New Zealand White rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). JAALAS 56(4), 436-442.

Handling and restraining rabbits for routine procedures may be impossible without prior sedation, result in unnecessary stress or injury to the rabbit or handler, and increase experimental variability. Parenteral administration of sedatives can cause stress...

Chatigny, F., Kamunde, C., Creighton, C. M. et al. 2017. Uses and doses of local anesthetics in fish, amphibians, and reptiles. JAALAS 56(3), 244-253.

Local anesthetics are an integral part of routine pain management in mammals, yet their use is relatively limited in fish, amphibians and reptiles. These animals frequently undergo potentially painful surgical procedures and therefore could possibly...

Parkinson, L., Mans, C. 2017. Anesthetic and postanesthetic effects of alfaxalone–butorphanol compared with dexmedetomidine–ketamine in chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera). JAALAS 56(3), 290-295.

Effective and safe anesthetic protocols are required for a variety of surgical and diagnostic procedures in chinchillas. Alfaxalone, a new anesthetic agent in the United States, can be administered intramuscularly and subcutaneously and is therefore...

Chinnadurai, S. K., Johnson III, J. G., Langan, J. N. 2017. Comparison of 3 methods for preventing perianesthetic hypothermia in callimicos (Callimico goeldii). JAALAS 56(3), 318-321.

Perianesthetic hypothermia is one of the most common complications in veterinary anesthesia, especially in small patients with a large body surface area to mass ratio. During anesthesia, body heat can be lost through 4 mechanisms—radiation...

Reiter, C. P., Christy, A. C., Olsen, C. H. et al. 2017. Effect of home cage bedding in the induction chamber on serum cortisol and corticosterone levels in response to isoflurane-induced anesthesia in C57BL/6J mice. JAALAS 56(2), 118-121.

Mice are routinely anesthetized with isoflurane in an induction chamber. The AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals states that distress should be minimized during euthanasia but does not address this point in regard to...

Janssen, C. F., Maiello, P., Wright Jr, M. J. et al. 2017. Comparison of atipamezole with yohimbine for antagonism of xylazine in mice anesthetized with ketamine and xylazine. JAALAS 56(2), 142-147.

The α2 adrenergic agonist xylazine produces a sedative effect and is typically combined with ketamine and used for anesthesia or chemical restraint of laboratory mice. Xylazine's sedative effect—and its undesirable side effects of bradycardia, hypotension...

Wilding, L. A., Hampel, J. A., Khoury, B. M. et al. 2017. Benefits of 21% oxygen compared with 100% oxygen for delivery of isoflurane to mice (Mus musculus) and rats (Rattus norvegicus). JAALAS 56(2), 148-154.

At research institutions, isoflurane delivered by precision vaporizer to a face mask is the standard for rodent surgery and for procedures with durations that exceed a few minutes. Pure oxygen is often used as the...