Sprague Dawley rat
The Sprague Dawley rat is an outbred multipurpose breed of albino rat used extensively in medical research.[1][2][3][4] Its main advantage is its calmness and ease of handling.[5] This breed of rat was first produced by the Sprague Dawley farms in Madison, Wisconsin (later to become the Sprague Dawley Animal Company). The breeding facilities were purchased first by Gibco and then by Harlan (now Harlan Sprague Dawley) in January 1980.[6] Another popular rat strain in medical research is the Wistar rat.
Sprague Dawley rats possess several interesting anatomical features. Because the esophagus enters the stomach at the lesser curvature through a fold of tissue of the stomach, these rats are unable to vomit. They have no gall bladder. The left lung has only one lobe, while the right has four. During periods of stress, they produce dark tears, which contain a pigment which is fluorescent under UV light.[7]
The average litter size of the Sprague Dawley rat is 10.5. The adult body weight is 250-300g for females, and 450-520g for males. The typical life span is 2.5 - 3.5 years.[8]
References[edit]
- ↑ Drachman RH, Root RK, Wood WB Jr. (1966). "Studies on the effect of experimental nonketotic diabetic mellitus on antibacterial defense". J Exp Med. 124: 227–40. doi:10.1084/jem.124.2.227.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- ↑ Hsu CC, Lai SC (2007). "Matrix metalloproteinase-2, -9 and -13 are involved in fibronectin degradation of rat lung granulomatous fibrosis caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis". Int J Exp Pathol. 88: 437–43. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2613.2007.00554.x. PMID 18039280.
- ↑ Horiuchi N, Suda T, Sasaki S, Takahashi H, Shimazawa E, Ogata E. (1976). "Absence of regulatory effects of 1alpha25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on 25-hydroxyvitamin D metabolism in rats constantly infused with parathyroid hormone". Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 73: 869–75. doi:10.1016/0006-291X(76)90202-3. PMID 15625855.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- ↑ Sukov W, Barth DS (1998). "Three-dimensional analysis of spontaneous and thalamically evoked gamma oscillations in auditory cortex". J Neurophysiol. 79: 2875–84. PMID 9636093.
- ↑ ""Online Medical Dictionary"". 1998-12-12. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
- ↑ "Harlan Sprague Dawley". Retrieved 2007-12-15.
- ↑ reference please
- ↑ Ace Animals website Retrieved on 2008-3-15.