Sorry, but it is against my personal ethics (and/or morals?) to do such a thing. Guess I'll never get to work in research... But then I can't even pith a frog without squirming. After it's dead though, nothing bothers me. (OK, maybe eyes) Perhaps I'm just wierd. (oh, wait, I work in a lab...) Like I always try to explain to the pathology residents who are trying to cram 3cmx3cmx5mm pieces of breast tissue into a cassette. "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." Don't get me wrong, I DON'T volunteer with PETA, etc. and know animal models are instrumental to many research programs. But I have a hard time figuring out where gray area turns to black. Let the flaming begin. And it's only Tuesday. Boy I am on a roll! Claire
________________________________ From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu on behalf of Chana de Wolf Sent: Tue 6/30/2009 2:37 PM To: jf...@gladstone.ucsf.edu Cc: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu; JR R Subject: Re: [Histonet] Good Perfusion... Histonetters, Perfusion under deep anesthesia is most certainly not unethical NOR illegal, and, in fact (as mentioned by Jo Dee), it is necessary for optimal perfusion and fixation -- the intracellular ischemic cascade begins immediately upon circulatory arrest, setting off a chain of events highly detrimental to subsequent perfusion. Indeed, ischemia quickly leads to the "no-reflow" phenomenon, effectively guaranteeing that you are not perfusing all tissues adequately at all! It is therefore *most* beneficial to begin perfusion with a beating heart, and every perfusion protocol I have ever worked under requires it (especially if the tissues are to be used for EM). I perform around 5-10 perfusions per week *specifically* to study the effects of ischemia on reperfusion and neural ultrastructure. Of course, you should check with your institution's particular rules and regulations, but perfusion begun under anesthesia is scientifically justified for the reasons mentioned above and should therefore be relatively easy to have approved by your IACUC. Sincerely, Chana de Wolf _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet