[Effects of blood sampling on enzyme activities in the serum of small laboratory animals (author's transl)].

Because of the difficulties in drawing blood for clinical chemistry in small laboratory animals there exist many methods for sampling blood and the preparation of serum, none of which is generally accepted or well standardised. It was the aim of this study to investigate the effects of sampling techniques on normal values of enzyme activities in the serum of rat and mouse. The activities of the following enzymes were determined: sorbitol dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, glutamate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, pyruvate kinase, creatine kinase, myokinase, alkaline phosphatase and leucine aminopeptidase. In addition plasmaproteins, urea and inorganic phosphorus were measured. In rats blood was obtained from the following sites: retroorbital venous plexus, jugular vein, heart and ventral aorta. In mice blood was sampled from the jugular vein and the ventral aorta. Shifts of water from the interstitial to the intravascular space due to hypovolemia occurring during the experimental procedure were followed up by measuring the hematocrit and the distribution of radioiodide labelled albumin. In rats the activities of lactate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, pyruvate kinase, creatine kinase and myokinase found in blood serum obtained from the retroorbital venous plexus and the ventral aorta were too high compared to the other sampling sites. Activities of alkaline phosphatase and alanine aminotransferase were slightly elevated when blood was sampled from the punctured retroorbital venous plexus. Small differences in plasmaproteins and hematocrit values were found to be due to acute shifts of water within the extracellular space. In mice the activities of lactate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase and myokinase were found to be too high in blood serum obtained from the ventral aorta. Efflux of enzymes from damaged cells and the interstitial space ive caused erroneous results too, but only to a minor extent. The most reliable method for blood sampling in rat and mouse is the cannulation of the jugular vein. The heart puncture can be recommended too. Attention should be paid, however, to the possibility of aspirating disrupted muscle cells through the inserted needle.