Clinical and Neurologic Evaluation of the Mouse
Test | Normal Response | System tested | ||
Body condition | No visible bony protruberences, no obesity | General health | ||
Respiration | Barely visible | Cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal, hematopoeitic systems | ||
Eyelids | Wide open, clean, no excessive lacrimation | Ocular disease, central nervous system | ||
Teeth and tongue | Teeth are aligned, tongue moves and is pink and smooth, no excessive salivation | Abnormalities can cause emaciation and death | ||
Skin and coat | Pink mucosae, smooth skin and intact coat | Cardiopulmonary, hematologic and dermatologic systems | ||
Body tone | Slight resistance when squeezed gently | General health, nervous, musculoskeletal, behavioural systems | ||
Abdominal palpation | No masses, slight resistance | Intrabdominal disease, nervous, musculoskeletal, behavioural systems | ||
Limb tone/grasping strength | Detectable tone, strong grasp on cage wire | Nervous, musculoskeletal, behavioural systems | ||
Spontaneous activity | Grooming, moderate movement and exploration | General health, neuromuscular system, anxiety, fear | ||
Observation of body position | Sitting or standing | General health, neuromuscular system | ||
Tremors | None | Central nervous system | ||
Circling/ataxia | None | Vestibular or cerebellar disease | ||
Quadri/paraplegia/tail position/gait | Normal gait with horizontally extended tail | Central nervous system, musculoskeletal system | ||
Seizures | No | Central nervous system | ||
Stereotypies | No | Central nervous system, behavioural | ||
Trunk and limb position when lifted by tail | Trunk curls, limbs splayed | Central nervous system, behavioural | ||
Visual placing | Forearms extend to meet cage floor when mouse is lowered by tail | Visual system | ||
Forelimb wheelbarrow | Forearms move normally when hind limbs elevated by tail. | Central nervous and musculoskeletal systems | ||
Eye blink and ear twitch reflexes | Single eye blink, ear retraction | Cranial nerves V and VII | ||
Toe pinch | Retraction | Central nervous and musculoskeletal systems | ||
Righting reflex | Immediately rights when placed supine | Central nervous and musculoskeletal systems | ||
Induced biting | Can be normal | Behavioural | ||
Spontaneous biting | Abnormal | Behavioural | ||
Vocalization when restrained | Can be normal | Behavioural |
