Plastination Technique in Laboratory Rats: an Alternative Resource for Teaching, Surgical Training and Research Development

NICOLÁS ERNESTO OTTONE; VANINA CIRIGLIANO; LEWICKI MARIANELA; HOMERO BIANCHI; SANTIAGO AJA-GUARDIOLA; RUBÉN DANIEL ALGIERI; MARIO CANTIN; RAMÓN FUENTES

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY

Sociedad Chilena de Anatomía Universidad de La Frontera Facultad de Medicina

Año: 2014 vol. 32 p. 1430 - 1435

0717-9367

SUMMARY: Today, alternatives methods are developed for the use of laboratory animals for teaching, research and surgicaltraining. In our work we present a novel alternative to the use of rats, by developing a technique of plastination at room temperature.High-quality rat preparations from the anatomical dissection point of view were obtained, in order to indefinitely preserve them dry, thethoracic and abdominal organs conserve its natural volume and shape, maintaining their texture and color. No odors or hassles and toxicvapors of conventional preserving agents were found. This technique allows the collection of dry, completely biosafe and durablespecimens in a short time and with excellent quality. Plastination in laboratory rats complements undergraduate and postgraduate anatomystudies perfectly. Also, radiology and surgery may benefit from this technique