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Peri- and intra-operative management of the goat during acute surgical experimentation

Abstract

Goats are used as animal models for surgery and trauma research. The authors discuss appropriate methods for induction of anesthetics, intubation and surgical maintenance of the goat during acute experimentation. Risks imposed by the Q fever pathogen Coxiella burnetii are described, as well as measures that have proven effective in minimizing zoonotic transmission of this pathogen to laboratory personnel. With appropriate knowledge of its applications, peri- and intra-operative management and limitations, the goat is a suitable animal model for a variety of biomedical research applications.

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Figure 1: Positioning, induction of anesthesia and intubation of the goat.
Figure 2
Figure 3: Arterial pCO2 and pH values in freely breathing versus actively ventilated goats.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Arthur Williams, Pankhil Shah, Diana Schulz, Jessica Blaylock and Linda Howard for laboratory technical support and Monica Jenschke for expert anesthesia consultation. This work was supported by the University of North Texas Health Science Center interdisciplinary research grant #G67716 and grant #W911NF-09-1-0086 from the US Department of Defense. D.C.F. was supported by a fellowship from the University of North Texas Health Science Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. This work was conducted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the PhD degree for D.C.F.

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Correspondence to Egeenee Q Daniels.

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Flaherty, D., Hoxha, B., Nelson, S. et al. Peri- and intra-operative management of the goat during acute surgical experimentation. Lab Anim 39, 80–85 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0310-80

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