A simple oral endotracheal intubation technique in rats using a modified 5-Fr vascular sheath and a commercially available ear-pick endoscope.

Authors

Toru Yoshiura, Satoko Kawauchi, Mizuki Hishinuma, Terushige Toyooka

Published in

The Journal of veterinary medical science. Oct 08, 2026. Epub Oct 08, 2026.

Abstract

Oral endotracheal intubation in rats is useful for cranial, thoracic, and survival experiments but remains technically demanding. We evaluated a simple method using a modified 5-Fr vascular sheath and a smartphone-connected ear-pick endoscope in 30 male Sprague-Dawley rats (8-12 weeks, 300-400 g). Under 3% isoflurane anesthesia and vecuronium bromide-induced neuromuscular blockade, the sheath was shortened to approximately 8 cm, and its modified inner dilator was advanced into the trachea under endoscopic visualization; the sheath was then advanced over the dilator and connected to mechanical ventilation. Intubation was successful in all rats, with first-attempt success in 28/30 (93.3%). No major complications occurred, although minor oral bleeding was observed in several rats. This method may provide a practical option for rat airway management.

PMID:
42844199
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 08 Oct 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.