Jugular vein venepuncture and anatomy in Australian Rattus
Patrick L. Taggart
A B C I , David Schultz D E , David A. Taggart A E , Wayne S. J. Boardman A E , Stephen M. Jackson C F G H and Kathy Burbridge A
A School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Roseworthy, SA 5371, Australia.
B Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Queanbeyan, NSW 2620, Australia.
C School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2033, Australia.
D Schultz Foundation, Millswood, SA 5034, Australia.
E FAUNA Research Alliance, Kahibah, NSW 2290, Australia.
F Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, NSW Department of Primary Industries NSW, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia.
G Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, United States of America, 20013-7012.
H Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, Sydney, NSW 2021, Australia.
I Corresponding author. Email: pat.taggart@dpi.nsw.gov.au
Australian Mammalogy 44(2) 299-301 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM21025
Submitted: 22 July 2021 Accepted: 17 September 2021 Published: 29 October 2021
Abstract
We describe our experiences collecting blood from Australian Rattus. We found uniform anatomy of the external jugular vein between Australian and exotic Rattus species. Understanding where the maxillary and linguofacial veins join to form the external jugular vein is critical to venepuncture. After locating this union, we consistently achieved successful venepuncture of the external jugular vein; yielding large blood volumes. All other routes of venepuncture yielded minute blood volumes or were unsuccessful. We provide recommendations for venepuncture in Australian rodents and encourage others to share their experiences; such reports facilitate sampling rarely sampled species and promote animal welfare.
Keywords: blood collection, bush rat, jugular, mammal, Rattus, rodent, venipuncture, wild.
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