Shriners Children's Boston 2 articles published in JoVE Medicine Modified Tail Vein and Penile Vein Puncture for Blood Sampling in the Rat Model Laura Charlès1,2,3, Thomas Agius*4,5, Irina Filz von Reiterdank*1,2,3,6, Janna Hagedorn1,2,3, Yanis Berkane1,2,3,7, Hyshem H. Lancia1,2,3, Basak E. Uygun2,3,8, Korkut Uygun2,3,8, Curtis L. Cetrulo Jr.1,2,3,9, Mark A. Randolph1,2,3,9, Alexandre G. Lellouch1,2,3,8 1Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, 2Harvard Medical School, 3 Here, we present a protocol to offer rapid, easy, and reliable blood collection alternatives for the rat model. We describe three different blood sampling methods according to the context: tail vein puncture under anesthesia or on a conscious animal, and dorsal penile vein puncture under anesthesia. Immunology and Infection The Superficial Inferior Epigastric Artery Axial Flap to Study Ischemic Preconditioning Effects in a Rat Model Yanis Berkane*1,2,3,5, Austin Alana Shamlou*1,2,4,5, Jose Reyes1,2, Hyshem H. Lancia1,2,5, Irina Filz von Reiterdank1,2,5,6,7, Nicolas Bertheuil3, Basak E. Uygun2,5,6, Korkut Uygun1,2,5,6, William G. Austen Jr.2,4, Curtis L. Cetrulo Jr.1,2,4,5, Mark A. Randolph1,2,4,5, Alexandre G. Lellouch1,2,5,6,8 1Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, 2Harvard Medical School, 3Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Rennes University Hospital Center (CHU de Rennes), University of Rennes 1, 4Plastic Surgery Research Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, 5 This protocol describes harvesting, suturing, and monitoring fasciocutaneous flaps in rats that allow for good visualization and manipulation of blood flow through the superficial inferior epigastric vessels by means of clamping and ligating the femoral vessels. This is critical for studies involving ischemic preconditioning.
