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. 
Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2020. It’s Okay to Cry - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume V. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the 5th volume of selected discussions that took place on the electronic Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum between February 2016 and December 2019. The forum was created in October 2002; it allows...

McIntosh, M. K., Armitage-Brown, B., Levy, R. 2019. Refinements of equipment and methodology to reduce risk during pole-guided chair transfer of nonhuman primates. JAALAS 58(4), 462-468.

Neurophysiologic studies of NHP commonly involve their transfer from a housing enclosure to a laboratory by using a mobile chair. This transfer should be performed in a manner that is safe and minimizes stress for...

Association of Primate Veterinarians. 2019. Association of Primate Veterinarians’ Position Statement: Cerebrospinal fluid aspiration for nonhuman primates in biomedical research. JAALAS 58(4), 428-429.

The Association of Primate Veterinarians (APV) recognizes that CSF collection may be required for both clinical and research purposes in nonhuman primates (NHP). Because there are inherent risks associated with the technique, the laboratory animal...

Ishizuka, S., Kawamoto, Y., Toda, K. et al. 2019. Bonobos’ saliva remaining on the pith of terrestrial herbaceous vegetation can serve as non-invasive wild genetic resources. Primates 60(1), 7–13.

Evaluating the genetic diversity of natural populations of endangered species is important for conservation. Although the genetic analysis of wildlife usually requires collecting DNA non-invasively, the variety of non-invasive DNA sampling methods is limited for...

Cox, R. J., Nol, P., Ellis, C. K. et al. 2019. Research with agricultural animals and wildlife. ILAR Journal 60(1), 66-73.

In fiscal year 2016, agricultural animals such as swine, sheep, goats, and cattle represented 10% of the 820 812 animals used in USDA-regulated research. In addition to traditional agricultural animals, research studies using captive wildlife...

Stevens, C. 2019. Refining handling for small laboratory fishes. Animal Technology and Welfare 18(3), 191-193.

Fishes in captivity, such as those used in laboratory research, may experience handling on a regular basis. In the laboratory, handling is usually done with dip-nets, and involves pursuit, confinement and capture and removal of...

Phillips, K.A., Tukan, A. N., Rigodanzo, A. D. et al. 2018. Quantification of hair cortisol concentration in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and tufted capuchins (Cebus apella). American Journal of Primatology 80(7), e22879.

Quantifying cortisol concentration in hair is a non‐invasive biomarker of long‐term hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) activation, and thus can provide important information on laboratory animal health. Marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and capuchins (Cebus apella) are New World primates...

O’Rourke, D. P., Baccanale, C. L., Stoskopf, M. K. 2018. Nontraditional laboratory animal species (cephalopods, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds). ILAR Journal 59(2), 168-176.

Aquatic vertebrates and cephalopods, amphibians, reptiles, and birds offer unique safety and occupational health challenges for laboratory animal personnel. This paper discusses environmental, handling, and zoonotic concerns associated with these species.

Chatigny, F., Groman, D. B., Martinson, S. A. et al. 2018. Evaluation of tissue changes following intramuscular infiltration of lidocaine in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. Journal of Fish Biology 92(4), 888-900.

Rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss were infiltrated with either saline or lidocaine adjacent to the dorsal fin to assess histopathological changes. Infiltration was done as if it were being used as a local anaesthetic. Tissue lesions...

Rapp-Santos, K. J., Altamura, L. A., Norris, S. L. et al. 2017. Comparison of saliva collection methods for the determination of salivary cortisol levels in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis), and African green monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops). JAALAS 56(2), 181-189.

The ability to quickly and accurately determine cortisol as a biomarker for stress is a valuable tool in assessing the wellbeing of NHP. In this study, 2 methods of collecting saliva (a commercial collection device...

Hawkins, P., McNeilly, A., Watson, J. et al. 2017. Report of the 2016 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(2), 77-86.

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent (and now Rabbit) Welfare Group held a one-day meeting on 1 November 2016 at the University of Edinburgh and was attended by 70 delegates. Presentation topics included refinements in blood sampling rodents...

Cooper, J. E., Hull, G. 2017. Gorilla Pathology and Health: With a Catalogue of Preserved Materials. Elsevier/Academic Print, London, UK.

Gorilla Pathology and Health: With a Catalogue of Preserved Materials consists of two cross-referenced parts. The first, the book itself, is a review of pathological changes and tissue responses in gorillas (Gorilla gorilla and G...

Smedley, J., Macalister, R., Wangari, S. et al. 2016. Laparoscopic technique for serial collection of para-colonic, left colic, and inferior mesenteric lymph nodes in macaques. PLOS ONE 11(6), e0157535.

Unlike peripheral lymph nodes (PLN), the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) draining the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are exposed to microbes and microbial products from the intestines and as such, are immunologically distinct. GI draining (MLN) have...

MacAllister, R. P., Lester McCully, C. M., Bacher, J. et al. 2016. Minimally invasive lumbar port system for the collection of cerebrospinal fluid from rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Comparative Medicine 66(4), 349–352.

Biomedical translational research frequently incorporates collection of CSF from NHP, because CSF drug levels are used as a surrogate for CNS tissue penetration in pharmacokinetic and dynamic studies. Surgical placement of a CNS ventricular catheter...

McEntee, D., Borg, K., Markiewicz, V. 2016. Establishment of a home-cage in vivo method of New Zealand white rabbit urine collection. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 4(4) (December), 44-46.

The most common methods for rabbit urine collection are newborn stroking, cystocentesis, and transfer to a metabolism cage.2 None of these options allow for a significant, quality amount of urine to be collected in vivo...

Caron, A., Lelong, C., Pascual, M. H. et al. 2015. Miniaturized blood sampling techniques to benefit reduction in mice and refinement in nonhuman primates: Application to bioanalysis in toxicity studies with antibody-drug conjugates. JAALAS 54(2), 145-152.

Minimizing the number of animals in regulatory toxicity studies while achieving study objectives to support the development of future medicines contributes to good scientific and ethical practices. Recent advances in technology have enabled the development...

Bloomsmith, M., Kim, N., Franklin, A. et al. 2015. Positive reinforcement methods to train chimpanzees to cooperate with urine collection. JAALAS 54, 66-69.

Positive reinforcement training can be used in many ways to enhance the welfare of captive primates. Training for biologic sample collection is one application of positive reinforcement training. In this study, 35 adult female chimpanzees...

Schillaci, T. T., Bishop, B. 2014. Effects of needle gauge on blood quality and potential for bruising with repeated blood collections in cynomolgus macaques. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 609-610. (Abstract #P226).

Obtaining quality blood samples while minimizing animal trauma related to venipuncture continues to be an important area of focus within the laboratory animal environment as it relates to both animal welfare and sample integrity. A...

Reamer, L. A., Haller, R. H., Thiele, E. J. et al. 2014. Factors affecting initial training success of blood glucose testing in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Zoo Biology 33(3), 212-220.

Type 2 diabetes can be a problem for captive chimpanzees. Accurate blood glucose (BG) readings are necessary to monitor and treat this disease. Thus, obtaining voluntary samples from primates through positive reinforcement training (PRT) is...

McMillan, J. L., Perlman, J. E., Galvan, A. et al. 2014. Refining the pole-and-collar method of restraint: Emphasizing the use of positive training techniques with rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). JJAALAS 53(1), 61-68.

The pole-and-collar method is one of several techniques that enable the safe transfer of a nonhuman primate from its home environment into a restraint chair without the need for sedation. It has been used within...

Lutz, C. K., Williams, P. C., Sharp, R. M. 2014. Abnormal behavior and associated risk factors in captive baboons (Papio hamadryas spp.). American Journal of Primatology 76(4), 355-361.

Abnormal behavior, ranging from motor stereotypies to self‐injurious behavior, has been documented in captive nonhuman primates, with risk factors including nursery rearing, single housing, and veterinary procedures. Much of this research has focused on macaque...

Andrews, C. 2014. Using positive reinforcement training to refine daily medical treatment of a cynomolgus macaque. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 565-566. (Abstract #P63).

Medical care of nonhuman primates in a laboratory setting can be challenging due to the safety concerns inherent in handling conscious animals. A mature, adult male cynomolgus macaque presented with a chronic foot condition that...

Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2013. Compassion Makes a Difference - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume III. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the third volume of discussions that took place on the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum (LAREF). This forum is dedicated to the exchange of personal experiences of refining the conditions under which...

Cruden, J., Bester, J., Baines, N. et al. 2013. Will a more consistent handling method lead to a calmer rabbit? Animal Technology and Welfare 11, 127-130.

The authors describe various methods of handling and restraining rabbits, and propose that while many methods are appropriate, rabbits respond better if only one method is used consistently.

Bloomsmith, M., Franklin, A., Neu, K. et al. 2013. Training time required to collect a variety of biological samples using primarily positive reinforcement training methods. American Journal of Primatology 75(S1), 65. (36th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #112)

Positive reinforcement training (PRT) methods can be applied to gain the voluntary cooperation of laboratory primates with the collection of biological samples. Information will be provided on training techniques used and the amount of training...