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. 
Fernandez, E. J. 2022. Training as enrichment: A critical review. Animal Welfare 31(1), 1-12.

Husbandry training and environmental enrichment are both important advancements associated with current behavioural welfare practices. Additionally, the use of training procedures has been proposed as a form of enrichment, with the implication that training can...

Nicolis, I. N., Beale, C. N., Bidot, W. A. et al. 2022. Performance and consistency of circulating warm water blankets for rodents. JAALAS 61(1), 96-100.

General anesthesia as used for rodent research can have adverse effects on physiologic mechanisms. Thermoregulation is often greatly inhibited, with resultant deleterious effects on cardiac and respiratory function. These potential effects can be mitigated by...

Berke, M. S., Fensholdt, L. K. D., Hestehave, S. et al. 2022. Effects of buprenorphine on model development in an adjuvant-induced monoarthritis rat model. PLOS ONE 17(1), e0260356.

Complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA)-induced arthritis in rats is a common animal model for studying chronic inflammatory pain. However, modelling of the disease is associated with unnecessary pain and impaired animal wellbeing, particularly in the immediate...

Bartlett, J., Davies, J., Purawijaya, D. et al. 2022. Refinement of handling and dosing methods for rats and mice. Animal Technology and Welfare 21(2), 120-124.

Modified Handling for Mice: Handling mice by gripping the base of the tail has been shown to negatively impact animal welfare by increasing anxiety and aversion to handling. We aimed to refi ne the dosing...

Johansson, Ö, Kachel, S., Weckworth, B. 2022. Guidelines for telemetry studies on snow leopards. Animals 12(13), 1663.

Animal-borne tracking devices have generated a wealth of new knowledge, allowing us to better understand, manage and conserve species. Fitting such tracking devices requires that animals are captured and often chemically immobilized. Such procedures cause...

Knaebe, B., Weiss, C. C., Zimmermann, J. et al. 2022. The promise of behavioral tracking systems for advancing primate animal welfare. Animals 12(13), 1648.

Recent years have witnessed major advances in the ability of computerized systems to track the positions of animals as they move through large and unconstrained environments. These systems have so far been a great boon...

LeFors, J. E., Anderson, L. M., Hanson, M. A. et al. 2022. Assessment of 2 hair removal methods in New Zealand white rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). JAALAS 61(3), 296-303.

Rabbits are frequently used as surgical models in research. However, studies assessing the effects of various hair removal methods on wound healing and surgical site infection (SSI) in rabbits are sparse. Here we evaluated the...

Fares, R., Flénet, T., Vial, J. et al. 2022. Non invasive jacketed telemetry in socially-housed rats for a combined assessment of respiratory system, electrocardiogram and activity using the DECRO system. Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods 117, 107195.

Respiratory and cardiovascular systems are among the vital organ systems that should be studied in safety pharmacology core battery test. Non-invasive jacketed external telemetry technology that enables concomitant monitoring of both systems has been available...

Van Assche, I. A., Padilla, M. S., Stupart, O. S. R. P. et al. 2022. Refinement of the stress-enhanced fear learning model of post-traumatic stress disorder: A behavioral and molecular analysis. Lab Animal 51(11), 293-300.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental health condition for which current treatments have long-term efficacy in 50% of patients. There is a clear need for better understanding of the mechanisms underlying PTSD and...

Zevnik, B., Jerchow, B., Buch, T. 2022. 3R measures in facilities for the production of genetically modified rodents. Lab Animal 51(6), 162-177.

Sociocultural changes in the human–animal relationship have led to increasing demands for animal welfare in biomedical research. The 3R concept is the basis for bringing this demand into practice: Replace animal experiments with alternatives where...

Chesler, K. C., Motz, C. T., Bales, K. L. et al. 2022. Voluntary oral dosing for precise experimental compound delivery in adult rats. Laboratory Animals 56(2), 147-156.

Preclinical drug studies routinely administer experimental compounds to animal models with the goal of minimizing potential adverse events from the procedure. In this study, we assessed the ability to train adult male Long Evans rats...

Hughey, S., Campbell, D., Rapp-Santos, K. et al. 2022. Refining the rat sciatic nerve block: A novel ultrasound-guided technique. Laboratory Animals 56(2), 191-195.

Murine translational models are an important tool to understand pain pathophysiology. One procedure used frequently in murine research is the sciatic nerve block. This study sought to demonstrate the use of ultrasound-guided sciatic nerve block...

Allioux, C., Achaintre, L., Cheataini. F. et al. 2022. Animal welfare assessment after severe traumatic brain injury in rats. Laboratory Animals 56(6), 528-539.

Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a multifactorial injury process involving respiratory, cardiovascular and immune functions in addition to the brain. Thus, live animal models are needed to study the molecular, cellular and systemic mechanisms...

Córneo, E., Michels, M., Abatti, M. et al. 2022. Enriched environment causes epigenetic changes in hippocampus and improves long-term cognitive function in sepsis. Scientific Reports 12(1), 11529.

Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by an inappropriate host response to infection. The presence of oxidative stress and inflammatory mediators in sepsis leads to dysregulated gene expression, leading to a hyperinflammatory...

Chung, Y. H., Gulumian, M., Pleus, R. C. et al. 2022. Animal welfare considerations when conducting OECD test guideline inhalation and toxicokinetic studies for nanomaterials. Animals 12(23), 3305.

The OECD test guidelines for animal experiments play an important role in evaluating the chemical hazards. Animal tests performed using OECD guidelines, especially when the good laboratory practice (GLP) principle is applied, reduce the duplication...

Farag, A., Mandour, A. S., Hamabe, L. et al. 2022. Novel protocol to establish the myocardial infarction model in rats using a combination of medetomidine-midazolam-butorphanol (MMB) and atipamezole. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 1064836.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the most common cardiac problems causing deaths in humans. Previously validated anesthetic agents used in MI model establishment are currently controversial with severe restrictions because of ethical concerns. The...

Reifenrath, J., Heider, M., Kempfert, M. et al. 2022. Buprenorphine in rats: Potent analgesic or trigger for fatal side effects? Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 64(1), 37.

With ongoing animal welfare efforts, multimodal analgesia is often recommended to implement in study protocols. Buprenorphine with very potent analgesic effect is a standard opioid for the use in this context in rats. In this...

Serrano, C., Antonio, J. 2022. Ultrasound guided surgery as a refinement tool in oncology research. Animals 12(23), 3445.

Refinement is one of the ethical pillars of the use of animals in research. Ultrasonography is currently used in human medicine as a surgical tool for guided biopsies and this idea can be applied to...

Cait, J., Cait, A., Scott, R. W. et al. 2022. Conventional laboratory housing increases morbidity and mortality in research rodents: Results of a meta-analysis. BMC Biology 20(1), 15.

Over 120 million mice and rats are used annually in research, conventionally housed in shoebox-sized cages that restrict natural behaviours (e.g. nesting and burrowing). This can reduce physical fitness, impair thermoregulation and reduce welfare (e.g...

Rose, P. (Ed.) 2022. The Behavioural Biology of Zoo Animals (1st Ed.). CRC Press, Boca Raton, USA. 367 p.

"Zoo animals" as a population are a diverse array of species from all around the globe. When managed in captivity, it is important that key aspects of natural ecology are factored into animal care, as...

Casey, K. M., Gore, F., Vilches-Moure, J. G. et al. 2021. Management of morbidity and mortality in a New Zealand white rabbit model of steroidinduced osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Comparative Medicine 71(1), 86-98.

Steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (SONFH) is a condition documented in humans and animals exposed to chronic steroid administration. The rabbit has become a preferred animal model for investigating the pathogenesis and treatment of...

Stygar, A. H., Gómez, Y., Berteselli, G. V. et al. 2021. A systematic review on commercially available and validated sensor technologies for welfare assessment of dairy cattle. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 634338.

In order to base welfare assessment of dairy cattle on real-time measurement, integration of valid and reliable precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies is needed. The aim of this study was to provide a systematic overview...

Shyan-Norwalt, M. 2021. Applications of behavioral training to laboratory animals. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(1) (January/February), 13-15.

How many of us have had this experience? We go to a conference, we read an article, we watch a video. We understand operant conditioning. We grasp the concepts behind clicker training, target training, and...

Buehler, A. 2021. The basics: Getting started with animal training in LAS. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(1) (January/February), 17-19.

Professional animal trainer now Animal Health Technician explains various animal training terms and concepts.

Blaney, A., Jampachaisri, K., Huss, M. K. et al. 2021. Sustained release buprenorphine effectively attenuates postoperative hypersensitivity in an incisional pain model in neonatal rats (Rattus norvegicus). PLOS ONE 16(2), e0246213.

Despite the need for safe and effective postoperative analgesia in neonates, research regarding pain management in neonatal rodents is relatively limited. Here, we investigate whether sustained release buprenorphine (Bup SR) effectively attenuates thermal hypersensitivity in...