THE ROLE OF VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC SUPPORT 
LABORATORIES IN A RESEARCH ANIMAL COLONY 
A. M. Jonas* 
Increased sophistication in uses of animals in 
biomedical research has placed great responsibility on 
support groups charged with providing high quality re- 
search animals to investigators. In discussing animal 
support facilities, staff, and procedures currently in ef- 
fect at the Yale School of Medicine, it is hoped that better 
appreciation of this complex problem may be obtained 
by investigators not directly involved in these activities. 
Other speakers at this conference will discuss specific 
needs and demands of investigators for high quality an- 
imals; this paper will only deal with selected methods 
which may help achieve these goals. The professional 
staff in our group includes 3 veterinary pathologists; 1 
virologist; 1 clinical chemist; 1 veterinary clinician and 
a physiological psychologist. Additional support labora- 
tories operated by this group include radiology, surgical 
facilities, hematology, and bacteriology. A total of 14 
laboratory technicians are directly involved in these 
areas. Discussion of selected disease outbreaks in our 
colonies will serve to illustrate how these laboratories 
and staff function, i.e., sialodacryoadenitis in rats with 
seroconversion, Sendai virus outbreaks with high mor- 
bidity and mortality in suckling mice, latent herpes-like 
virus infection in guinea pigs, and importance of a spe- 
cific diagnosis in management (nocardiosis versus tu- 
berculosis). The role of these laboratories in the ex- 
panded context of a service resource to the medical 
school faculty and as investigative laboratories will also 
be discussed. 
INTRODUCTION 
Animal research space at the Yale School of 
Medicine encompasses over 90,000 sq. ft. with 
an additional 34,000 sq. ft. of buildings located 
on two research farms about 10 miles from the 
campus. The daily census ranges from 30,000 to 
40,000 animals. Production of inbred and 
outbred stock exceeds 300,000 animals annually, 
with an additional 120,000 animals purchased 
from outside sources. The basic animal research 
space is made up of one, two and three corridor 
systems,^ barrier-maintained facilities, germ- 
free isolators, isolators and negative pressure 
* Section of Laboratory Animal Sciences, Yale University School of 
Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut. 
rooms for infectious disease experiments, ra- 
dio-shielded rooms and cubicles for sensitive re- 
cording and radio-telemetry experiments, and 
essential support services (i.e., animal surgery, 
radiology, and veterinary diagnostic laborato- 
ries) . 
METHODS 
The role of veterinary diagnostic laboratories 
is largely dependent upon the type and quality 
of animal research conducted within the institu- 
tion. If a great deal of emphasis is placed on 
using disease-free animals maintained in a high 
state of health, then means must be established 
to determine their health status. Furthermore, 
once healthy animals are available they must be 
maintained free from exposure to unwanted an- 
imal pathogens during an experiment. 
The clinical veterinarian (laboratory animal 
medicine specialist) must provide major input 
into this system. It is his/her responsibility to 
aid the investigator in obtaining disease-free 
animals, to suggest the appropriate housing 
system compatible with the research protocol, 
to maintain the animals disease free, and to 
document, when necessary, the health status of 
the animal colonies for additional input into the 
investigator's research data. If evidence of dis- 
ease is present, investigative and corrective 
measures must be instituted. The mechanism to 
achieve the above goals at Yale has been to de- 
velop veterinary diagnostic laboratories in 
pathology, microbiology, hematology, clinical 
chemistry and radiology, staffed by faculty 
members and experienced laboratory techni- 
cians who can provide information to the clini- 
cal veterinarians and investigators for ap- 
praisal and action. 
The diagnostic laboratories also provide a 
service function for investigators who require 
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