A model describing the use of a bronchial blocking device and a sheathed bronchoscope for pulmonary aspiration studies in the Göttingen minipig

The administration of test substances into a single lung, or lung lobe, allows the remaining untreated lung to act as an experimental control and effectively halves the number of animals required in a given experiment. It reduces the likelihood of early fatal pulmonary failure when noxious substances are studied which may lessen the need for replacement animals. However, the ease of substance administration and the subsequent analysis of its effects, for example by bronchoalveolar lavage or bronchoscopy, depend critically on the size of the animal model. The advantages of using minipigs; ease of handling, reduced housing requirements, genetic homogeneity, etc. are reduced if their diminutive size makes lung studies difficult. This article describes the use of a bronchial blocking device and a sheathed bronchoscope which enabled sterile endobronchial substance administration in Göttingen minipigs, and allowed pulmonary aspiration studies to be conducted with each animal acting as its own control.