Richard:
Mouse perfusions are not terribly different, except
maybe for the necessity of using finer needles.  We
use a saline drip bottle at about a 3 ft height above
the table.  Actually, there are 2 bottles--one filled
with saline, and the second with the fixative.  Fed
into a common line at a 'T' or 'Y', it is possible
then to easily switch from the saline flush to the
fixative.  The canula is either fine teflon tubing or
a blunt needle 21 ga or smaller (I have used 30 ga on
very young animals).  The canula can be inserted into
the left ventricle of the heart or into the abdominal
aorta, and cut a vein for exit.  You can use a bit
higher level for the drip bottles (I am drawing a
mental blank on the optimum height), but 3 ft
generally works ok.  Don't go too high--you'll
generate pressure-induce artifacts.  The only other
comment I can make is that it takes practice (you
know--how do you get to Carnegie Hall?  practice,
practice, practice).  Oh, other details are coming up
(it has been a while, so the files are dusty in my
mental archives).  It is best to prewarm your
solutions--either by warming the bottles just prior to
use or running coils of the tubing through a warm
water bath (that may take a bit of experimenting to
determine length of tubing, number of coils, water
temp).  The final temp should be close to 37C--this
lessens vasoconstriction.  An alternative is to use a
vasodilator in the saline--something that most people
prefer to avoid due to possible effects on vascular
structures or antigens (I am an electron microscopist,
primarily, so that is a very important consideration).
 The choice of fixative is wholly independent of the
setup, and can be changed to fit the experiment (I
have even used hydrogen sulfide laced fixative for
metal localization--nasty, even in a hood!!!).  Hope
this helps.

Roger Moretz, Ph.D.
Dept of Toxicology
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

--- "Rodriguez, Richard"
<richard.rodriguez@spcorp.com> wrote:
> Recently there were some interesting postings on rat
> perfusions.  We have
> been trying mouse perfusions but have not been very
> successful.  Is there
> anyone out there with experience with the mouse?  We
> would appreciate any
> advice.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Richard Rodriguez
> Schering-Plough Research Institute
> Lafayette, NJ
> 973-940-4282
> 
>
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