A TECHNIQUE FOR OBTAINING REPEATED LIVER BIOPSIES FROM RATS

Many morphological, pharmacological and toxicological studies of hepat otoxicity require frequent sampling of liver over time. In the past th is has been achieved by including large numbers of animals in the stud y and killing subgroups at different times. In this paper we describe a technique for repeated liver biopsy that procures sufficient liver t issue for histopathological assessment and for additional studies, for example measurement of hepatic iron concentration or vitamin A measur ement. The advantages and disadvantages of this technique are discusse d.