A primer on rodent identification methods.
Identifying laboratory rodents as a group may be sufficient if all the animals are to receive the same treatment and/or manipulation and if individual variations in response are not to be recorded separately. However, it is frequently necessary to be able to differentiate between individual animals used in a study. Identification of individual animals may also be necessary to maintain health records and to properly manage colonies of laboratory animals in compliance with regulatory agencies and research protocol requirements.
Wang
Lotus
L
Research Animal Resource Center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY 10021, USA. wangl5@mskcc.org
D000823:Animal Identification Systems; D000818:Animals; D004431:Ear, External; D004581:Electronics; D007756:Laboratory Animal Science / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D013653:Tattooing; D014034:Toes; D014730:Veterinary Medicine / Q000379:methods*