ABSTRACT
The maxillary bleed can be a good alternative to the retro-orbital bleed. Anesthesia is not required with this technique. Depending on the strain of mouse, it is possible to obtain a fairly large blood sample from the maxillary vein. See the Appendix on page 87 for information on calculating the blood volume and maximum blood sample volume of the mouse. The trainers at the Research Animal Resources Center (RARC) recommend using 10% of the total blood volume as the maximum amount that can be collected at one time. To allow for an adequate recovery period, we further recommend that the maximum amount be withdrawn only once every 2 weeks (based on 10%). Daily samples can be collected as long as the cumulative blood volume does not exceed the calculated maximum over a 7-day period.
