Small-animal traumatizer.

Abstract

Clinical research, particularly among traumatized musculoskeletal patients, has been greatly inhibited by a lack of uniformity in the intensity of the injury. That is, few patients present identical injuries with respect to intensity and degree of soft tissue damage. Hence, researchers have gone to the experimental animal to achieve uniformity to the wound. Few studies, however, have reported effective methods of uniform traumatization. A small-animal traumatizer was developed at Brigham Young University that has proved reliable in producing a uniform contusion of 177 mm2 on the lateral thigh of the anesthetized experimental animal. If the investigator seeks an experimentally induced hematoma that approximates contusions seen clinically, one that is unvarying in every sample, something not available in traumatized patients, the small-animal traumatizer may be an important addition to your laboratory.