New source of vein graft for rabbit experimentation

The present report introduces a new source of vein graft in rabbit experime ntation which is long and of large caliber, The average length of available vein was 13.3 +/- 0.9 cm (mean +/- SD). The average external diameter of t he vein was 1.8 +/- 0.2 mm (mean a SD), 1.4 +/- 0.4 mm (mean +/- SD), and 1 .8 +/- 0.2 mm (mean +/- SD) at the proximal, middle, and distal portions, r espectively. The average number of valves throughout the vein was 7 +/- 1, The vein is anatomically termed the lateral saphenous vein distally and the ischiadic vein proximally, and is superficially located on the lateral asp ect of the pelvic limb. Therefore, this vein is easily harvested from the l ower crus to the upper-thigh, providing a long length of vein graft for exp erimental study. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.