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