METHOD FOR THE INTRAVENOUS INJECTION OF 



GUINEA-PIGS 



GEORGE B. ROTH 



Hygienic Laboratory , United States Public Health Service, Washington, D. C. 



Received for publication September 15, 1920 



Up to the present time two well-known methods have been 

 employed for the intravenous injection of substances into guinea- 

 pigs, namely the jugular vein and the ear vein methods. 



By certain investigators the first method is considered objec- 

 tionable by reason of the fact that when the jugular vein is used 

 it is exceedingly difficult to control the head of the animal without 

 interfering with the operator's movements when making the 

 injections. The marginal vein of the ear which is advocated by 

 Rous^ can be employed only in selected animals and therefore 

 is not especially adapted for routine use. 



A method for routine work, which seems to have a distinct 

 advantage over the preceding methods has been elaborated 

 recently. This makes use of the comparatively large superficial 

 vein lying on the dorsal and inner aspect of the hind leg of the 

 animal. This vein nearly always runs diagonally- across the 

 leg from the dorsal aspect below to the inner aspect above. 



To use the above vessel for intravenous administration an 

 operating board (fig. 1) has been devised which permits the 

 operator to manipulate the hind legs of the animal freely and at 

 the same time does not prevent the legs from being securely 

 tied. The board proper is made from a flat piece of wood and 

 is 16 inches long, 8 inches wide and f inch in thickness. It is 

 similar to an ordinary animal board except that the end to which 



iRous, Peyton. Method for Intravenous Injection of Guinea-Pigs. Jour. 

 Exper. Med., 1918, 27, 459. 



^Occasionally, the vessel may run anteriorly. 



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