ABSTRACT
Only a few microsurgical interventions can be performed on the lungs of small animals. This chapter discusses three types of operations that have been used frequently in various species, but particularly in smaller mammals, among which the rat was the most commonly used. The three topics are the resection of lung tissue, the occlusion of the pulmonary artery, and the artificial creation of pulmonary atelectasis. The removal of one lung or two lobes is a short but serious surgical intervention, and the question whether the animal should receive postoperative pain relief needs to be addressed. It is evident that the injuries created on the chest wall will affect thorax mechanics, particularly in the immediate postoperative period. To assess the impact of such disturbances on the lung, so-called sham-operated animals are needed as controls in addition to normal, unoperated animals. In a large number of publications sham surgery was found to produce no response in the lung tissue.
