Refinement Database

Database on Refinement of Housing, Husbandry, Care, and Use of Animals in Research

This database, created in 2000, is updated every four months with newly published scientific articles, books, and other publications related to improving or safeguarding the welfare of animals used in research.

Tips for using the database:

  • This landing page displays all of the publications in the database.
  • Use the drop-down menus to filter these publications by Animal Type, Setting, and/or Topic.
  • Clicking on a parent category (e.g., Rodent) will include publications relating to all the items in that category (e.g., Chinchilla, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, etc.).
  • You may also add a keyword to further narrow your search.
  • Please note that at this time, only publications dated 2010 or later (with some exceptions) can be filtered by Animal Type and Topic, and only publications dated 2020 or later (with some exceptions) can be filtered by Setting. Most publications older than 2010 can only be searched by keyword. 
Gjendal, K., Lund Ottesen, J., Olsson, I. A. S. et al. 2019. Burrowing and nest building activity in mice after exposure to grid floor, isoflurane or ip injections. Physiology & Behavior 206, 59-66.

Burrowing and nest building are examples of highly motivated innate behaviours in rodents. Assessments based on these behaviours can be used as non-invasive indicators of pain, distress and suffering. In this study, we investigated the...

Redaelli, V., Papa, S., Marsella, G. et al. 2019. A refinement approach in a mouse model of rehabilitation research. Analgesia strategy, reduction approach and infrared thermography in spinal cord injury. PLOS ONE 14(10), e0224337.

The principles of Refinement, Replacement and Reduction (3R’s) should be taken into account when animals must be used for scientific purpose. Here, a Reduction / Refinement approach was applied to the procedure of spinal cord...

Klune, C. B., Larkin, A. E., Leung, V. S. Y. et al. 2019. Comparing the Rat Grimace Scale and a composite behaviour score in rats. PLOS ONE 14(5), e0209467.

There is a growing interest in the use of voluntarily displayed ongoing behaviours in laboratory animals to assess the pain experience. In rats, two behavioural pain scales, the Rat Grimace Scale (RGS, a facial expression...

Wang, X., Zhang, Y., Lu, T. et al. 2019. The effect of cage ventilation rate on the health of mice housed in Individually Ventilated Cages. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 45(3).

The number of air changes per hour (ACH), an important index for individually ventilated cages (IVC), strongly affects the cage microenvironment and the health of laboratory animals. The objective of this study was to determine...

Campos-Luna, I., Miller, A., Beard, A. et al. 2019. Validation of mouse welfare indicators: A Delphi consultation survey. Scientific Reports 9, 10249.

This study aims to identify the most valid, reliable and practicable indicators of laboratory mouse welfare using the Delphi consultation technique. The effective assessment of laboratory mouse welfare is a fundamental legal and moral requirement...

Abdelrahman, A., Kumstel, S., Zhang, X. et al. 2019. A novel multi-parametric analysis of non-invasive methods to assess animal distress during chronic pancreatitis. Scientific Reports 9, 14084.

Ethical responsibility, legal requirements and the need to improve the quality of research create a growing interest in the welfare of laboratory animals. Judging the welfare of animals requires readout parameters, which are valid and...

Améndola, L., Ratuski, A., Weary, D. M. 2019. Variation in the onset of CO2-induced anxiety in female Sprague Dawley rats. Scientific Reports 9, 19007.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is commonly used to kill laboratory rats. Rats find CO2 aversive and aversion varies between individuals, indicating that rats vary in CO2 sensitivity. Healthy humans experience feelings of anxiety at concentrations similar...

Morgunowicz, A., Cavanagh, C., Nikitochkina, S. et al. 2019. Increased incidence of spontaneous seizures in laboratory mice in an IVC environment. Animal Technology and Welfare 18(3), 159-166.

Over the past decade, there has been an enormous shift away from the use of open top rodent cages to the use of individually ventilated cages (IVCs). This has brought with it many benefits, including...

Smith, B. J., Bruner, K., Kendall, L. V. 2019. Female- and intruder-induced ultrasonic vocalizations in C57BL/6J mice as proxy indicators for animal wellbeing. Comparative Medicine 69(5), 374–383.

Female urine-induced male mice ultrasonic vocalizations (FiUSV) are ultrasonic vocalizations produced by adult male mice after presentation of adult female urine, whereas intruder-induced ultrasonic vocalizations (IiUSV) are produced by resident adult female mice when interacting...

Colby, L. A., Nowland, M. H., Kennedy, L. H. 2019. Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction (5th ed). Wiley-Blackwell, Ames, IA.

The revised fifth edition of Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction is an accessible guide to basic information for conducting animal research safely and responsibly. It includes a review of the unique anatomic and physiologic...

Mazhary, H., Hawkins, P. 2019. Applying the 3Rs: A case study on evidence and perceptions relating to rat cage height in the UK. Animals 9(12), 1104.

This article investigates the barriers to implementing higher caging in animal research establishments in the UK. The use of animals in research and testing in the UK is regulated by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act...

Jirkof, P., Rudeck, J., Lewejohann, L. 2019. Assessing affective state in laboratory rodents to promote animal welfare—What is the progress in applied refinement research? Animals 9(12), 1026.

In the past, there was a strong focus on avoiding or reducing negative animal welfare in animal experimentation. Recently, the importance of promoting positive animal welfare in laboratory animals has been highlighted. To ensure and...

Rowland, N. E., Toth, L. A. 2019. Analytic and interpretational pitfalls to measuring fecal corticosterone metabolites in laboratory rats and mice. Comparative Medicine 69(5), 337–349.

Minimization and alleviation of stress are generally viewed as desirable aspects of laboratory animal management and use. However, achieving that goal requires an unambiguous and valid measure of stress. Glucocorticoid concentrations are commonly used as...

McMillan, F. D. (ed). 2019. Mental Health and Well-being in Animals (2nd ed). CABI, Wallingford, UK.

This second edition is fully revised, expanded, and comprehensively updated with the most current knowledge about the full array of mental health issues seen in animals. Written by key opinion leaders, internationally-recognized experts and specialists...

Makowska, I. J., Weary, D. M. 2019. A good life for laboratory rodents? ILAR Journal 60(3), 373-388.

Most would agree that animals in research should be spared “unnecessary” harm, pain, or distress, and there is also growing interest in providing animals with some form of environmental enrichment. But is this the standard...

Skinner, M., Ceuppens, P., White, P. et al. 2019. Social-housing and use of double-decker cages in rat telemetry studies. Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 96, 87-94.

Rat telemetry is widely used for biomedical research purposes and is used routinely in early pre-clinical drug development to screen for the potential cardiovascular risk of candidate drugs. Historically, these studies have been conducted in...

Gent, T. C., Detotto, C., Vyssotski, A. L. et al. 2018. Epileptiform activity during inert gas euthanasia of mice. PLOS ONE 13(4), e0195872.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the most commonly used euthanasia agents for mice, yet it is highly aversive and nociceptive. Inert gases are a possible alternative, however there are qualitative reports of seizures resulting...

Kells, N. J., Beausoleil, N. J., Sutherland, M. A. et al. 2018. Electroencephalographic responses of anaesthetised rats to carbon dioxide inhalation. Animal Welfare 27(3), 215-223.

Exposure to high concentrations of CO2 is a common means of stunning and killing laboratory rodents. However, there is concern regarding the potential for animals to have aversive experiences, such as pain or breathlessness, prior...

Tallent, B. R., Law, L. M., Rowe, R. K. et al. 2018. Partial cage division significantly reduces aggressive behavior in male laboratory mice. Laboratory Animals 52(4), 384 - 393.

Aggression in mice often results in injury leading to unplanned euthanasia or the initiation of protocols to isolate animals, thereby increasing research costs and straining resources. Here, we tested if adding a partial cage divider...

Khoo, S. Y.-S., Lay, B. P. P., Joya, J. et al. 2018. Local anaesthetic refinement of pentobarbital euthanasia reduces abdominal writhing without affecting immunohistochemical endpoints in rats. Laboratory Animals 52(2), 152-162.

Sodium pentobarbital is a commonly used agent for euthanizing laboratory rats, however its high pH can cause abdominal discomfort after intraperitoneal injection. Previous studies suggest that the addition of a local anaesthetic may alleviate this...

Tuttle, A. H., Molinaro, M. J., Jethwa, J. F. et al. 2018. A deep neural network to assess spontaneous pain from mouse facial expressions. Molecular Pain 14, 1-9.

Grimace scales quantify characteristic facial expressions associated with spontaneous pain in rodents and other mammals. However, these scales have not been widely adopted largely because of the time and effort required for highly trained humans...

Oliver, V. L., Thurston, S. E., Lofgren, J. L. 2018. Using cageside measures to evaluate analgesic efficacy in mice (Mus musculus) after surgery. JAALAS 57(2), 186-201.

Recent studies have revealed some of the most frequently used analgesics in mice are not effectively treating postoperative pain. Our laboratory sought to compare and assess the validity and reliability of 2 cageside pain assessments...

Dudley, E. S., Boivin, G. P. 2018. Evaluation of a commercially available euthanasia solution as a voluntarily ingested euthanasia agent in laboratory mice. JAALAS 57(1), 30-34.

All currently accepted methods of euthanasia for laboratory mice involve some degree of stress, fear, anxiety, or pain. We evaluated the voluntary oral administration of a euthanasia drug in 99 male and 81 female mice...

Jones, S., Neville, V., Higgs, L. et al. 2018. Assessing animal affect: An automated and self-initiated judgement bias task based on natural investigative behaviour. Scientific Reports 8, 12400.

Scientific methods for assessing animal affect, especially affective valence (positivity or negativity), allow us to evaluate animal welfare and the effectiveness of 3Rs Refinements designed to improve wellbeing. Judgement bias tasks measure valence; however, task-training...

Mei, J., Riedel, N., Grittner, U. et al. 2018. Body temperature measurement in mice during acute illness: Implantable temperature transponder versus surface infrared thermometry. Scientific Reports 8, 3526.

Body temperature is a valuable parameter in determining the wellbeing of laboratory animals. However, using body temperature to refine humane endpoints during acute illness generally lacks comprehensiveness and exposes to inter-observer bias. Here we compared...