Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

5-2009

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Department

Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology

Committee Chair

Tseng, Michael T.

Subject

Wound healing--Research; Wound healing--Animal models; Rabbits as laboratory animals

Abstract

Ventral ear skin of the rabbit is a commonly used model for wound/ulcer studies; however the gradient effects of vascular ligation on epidermal stability has not been reported. In this study ischemic effects were studied after ligation of the central feeding vessel in one ear, while the other ear served as control. Three or six days later 9 full-thickness skin circular punches (6 mm, numbered 1-9) were removed from both ears, equidistant from each other with a proximal-distal and medial-lateral orientation. Samples were prepared for light microscopy and immunohistochemistry examinations. Quantitative analysis showed that normal and ischemic tissue differ minimally on day 3 but significantly by day 6 with respect to proximal-distal locations as well as medial and lateral locations. These findings suggest that the widely used 4-hole rabbit ear model may be well suited for studying ischemic wound healing. However, randomization of treatment placements among the four corners of the ear is necessary to reduce sample biases.

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