Rat Bile Sampling with Replacement Salts and Blood Sampling

Use this system for bile sampling where salts are replaced for animal welfare, combined with an arterial or venous catheter for intermittent low-stress blood sampling outside the cage.

During surgery, connect the bile duct catheter to the blue port of an implanted three-channel Vascular Access Button™, the duodenal catheter to the white port and the venous or arterial catheter to the red port. Prime then install the VABR3L to connect the blue and white ports so that bile can flow in an extracorporeal loop while the animal recovers from surgery. Rats can be pair housed with the VAB™ and loop installed.

To collect bile and sample blood, remove the loop and snap in a three-channel VAB™ tether that connects the blue port to a primed line through a two-channel swivel down to a collection vial at animal level (so that bile can flow at its natural rate without fighting gravity), connects the white duodenal port through the swivel to a syringe pump with replacement salts*, and connects the venous or arterial catheter to a PinPort™ at the top of the tether where blood samples can be collected manually without touching the animal.

* Charles River suggests 2.3%-2.5% taurocholate in 0.9% saline at 1.2ml/hr