Cervical dislocation

Cervical dislocation is a common method of animal euthanasia. It refers to a technique used in physical euthanasia of small animals by applying pressure to the neck and dislocating the spinal column from the skull or brain.[1] The aim is to quickly separate the spinal cord from the brain[2] so as to provide the animal with a fast and painless death;[1] however, research on this method has shown it does not consistently concuss the brain and may not cause instantaneous insensibility.[3]

Cervical dislocation is a common method of euthanising laboratory mice.

Technique

Firm pressure is applied at the base of the skull, along with a sharp pinching and twisting of the thumb and forefinger. At the same time, the tail is pulled backward.[4] This severs the spinal cord at the base of the brain or within the cervical spine area (the upper third of the neck).[2] According to the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC), cervical dislocation is normally only conducted on small animals.[1]

Ethics

The University of Iowa and some veterinary associations consider the technique as an ethically accepted method for terminating the life of small rodents such as rats, mice, squirrels, etc.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Glossary Archived June 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine." CCAC Programs. 2005. Canadian Council on Animal Care Archived 2009-10-17 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 13 July 2007.
  2. Extension "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-01-15. Retrieved 2007-07-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. https://www.hsa.org.uk/neck-dislocation/neck-dislocation
  4. Hogan, B., F. Constantini, and E. Lacy. 1986. Manipulating the Mouse Embryo: A Laboratory Manual
  5. University of Iowa. "Euthanasia Archived January 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine." Accessed 15 August 2007


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.