Surgical Technique for Establishment of a Multiple-Organ Ischemia and Reperfusion (I/R) Injury Model in Rat

Animal models of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury have been widely applied to the study of myocardial, liver, renal and skeletal muscle ischemia, I/R injury and drug efficacy. However, these require large numbers of experimental animals and human resources in performing the surgical procedures. Animal models described for experimental research regarding multiple-organ I/R injury are relatively sparse. Therefore, there is a clear potential to evaluate the drugs for protection against I/R injury of multiple organs in an established multiple organ I/R injury animal model. Here we provide useful information for medical researchers who are learning the surgical process of establishing I/R injury animal models. We demonstrate a novel multiple-organ procedure for both skeletal muscle I/R injury and kidney I/R injury in a rat model. The surgical process is described from an anesthetized animal to the completion of reperfusion, including detailed descriptions of each step throughout the procedure. It should also be noted that this video guide is focused towards procedures conducted in rodent models. Modifications of the described procedures are applicable to other animal models.