title: Catheterization of the urethra in female pigs.
abstract: Female pigs are commonly utilized as an animal model for biomedical research and require urethral catheterization. Sixteen pigs were anaesthetized for research purposes and required the placement of a urethral catheter. Post-mortem examination of the vaginas revealed the urethral opening to be consistently halfway from the mucocutaneous junction of the vulva to the cervix. A shallow diverticulum was also observed on the ventral floor of the urethral opening. To optimize conditions for success the pig should be carefully positioned supine, a vaginal speculum and light source should be used, the pig should be adequately anaesthetized, and the anatomy of the vagina should be reviewed.
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia Animal Care Services, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia gabrielle.musk@uwa.edu.au.
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Musk
authors.affiliation: Western Australia Liver Kidney Transplant Surgery Service, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, Western Australia School of Surgery, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zwierzchoniewska
authors.affiliation: Western Australia Liver Kidney Transplant Surgery Service, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, Western Australia School of Surgery, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014521:Urethra / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014546:Urinary Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
keywords: pig; refinement; urethral catheterization