Ultrasound scanning to determine the stage of pregnancy in transgenic mice

摘要

Historically, there has been a regular need to transfer 10-14 day pregnant non-transgenic or wild type animals from Cancer Research UK, Clare Hall Laboratories at South Mimms to Central London, a distance of 23 miles. Upon arrival, it was often the case that some animals were found either not to be pregnant or possessed too few pups in the uterus. Considerable resources had been utilised to prepare for the experimental procedure and if animals were not suitable it often meant that these resources were wasted. To minimise the incidences of this occurring, various methods were reviewed within the Institute to more accurately determine the stage of pregnancy and the number of embryos present within the female.