Thread: Animal Models - question

I was talking with a cousin about animal models (he does work involving rat's brains), and asphyxiation. He was talking about CO2 (for asphyxiation high concentrations of CO2 are used) causes a lot of problems in brains (I forget what it does exactly, something about turning on parts of the brain that are not normally on, turning other parts off). It also creates carbonic acid. I asked about nitrogen, and if that would cause problems too - as it would not form an acid - he said he did not know. Does anyone know anything about this?

Gases tend to be slow and painful, yes. Much better to use cervical dislocation which is quick and much more humane (when performed properly).

Have a look at the wikipedia article on "Nitrogen asphyxiation" - it should supply you with the relevant information. In short, it's already used in some areas and is even responsible for several accidental deaths a year. Apparently it has even been proposed as a method of execution. There is also some info on the physiology of the process.

As far as I know the current ethical guidelines in Canada only allow CO2 asphyxiation and cervical dislocation by hand or with a blade. You have to do a lot of paperwork to get approved to kill an animal any other way.

Would anybody care to say offhand the pros & cons of atmospheric N vs. CO2, as (insect) pesticide. Greenhouses and grain elevators.