A Technique of Cross-Circulation in the Rat which Permits Accurate Control of Blood Volume Transfers ‡§

While the technique of cross-circulation has been used extensively in physiology, it has usually been employed with large animals. The present paper describes a method of cross-circulation that has been successfully adapted to the rat. The use of this species offers certain advantages: (a) animals are uniform in structure as a result of continued inbreeding, (b) blood types are similar and consequently difficulties due to incompatibility are not a problem, (c) marked resistance to infection is present, (d) certain organs can be removed comparatively easily, and (e) since the laboratory rat has been used extensively in biological investigations, a great deal of standardized information is readily available for use as control data.