Considerations for Flow Measurement on the Mouse Femoral Artery

Location of Measurement with the Flowprobe Vessel Diameter Maintaining Body Temperature

Experimental Set-up
Photos and data courtesy of Michael F. Callahan Depts. of Orthopaedic Surgery,

Physiology & Pharmacology,

Wake Forest University Health Sciences Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Transonic Systems Inc.

All information in this file is privileged information and may not be used without permission of the author.

Branches of Femoral Artery Before and After Dissection

Epigastric Nerve, Artery and Vein Approximate Location of Knee

Femoral Nerve, Artery and Vein exiting from abdominal wall

Transonic Systems Inc.

Femoral Nerve, Superficial Femoral Artery and Vein

Femoral artery proximal to the epigastric a., isolated from the femoral vein, measures ~ 400 m diameter with a micrometer. Flow measurements can be made in this location easily.

Transonic Systems Inc.

Femoral Blood Flow in Anesthetized Mouse Recorded with Transonic Systems Flowmeter & Nanoprobe

Transonic Systems Inc.

Data Courtesy of Michael F. Callahan, Wake Forest Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC

MFCallahan, 3/03

Effect of Core Temperature on Femoral Blood Flow (22g CD-1, 3-16-03)

39C 0.82 ml/m 37C 0.64 ml/m 35C 0.51 ml/m 33C 0.27 ml/m

Temperature has a profound effect on femoral blood flow and must be monitored.
Transonic Systems Inc.
Data Courtesy of Michael F. Callahan, Wake Forest Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC

Flow measurements on the femoral artery distal to the epigastric a.

Isolation of the artery from the vein in this position is very challenging. There is less fascia and connective tissue around the sheath of the artery and vein to manipulate the vessel free.
The nerve runs immediately adjacent and is very easy to tear. Once isolated, avoid pulling up on the artery which would cause vascular spasm or putting pressure on the vein to cause occlusion.

Superficial femoral a.
Transonic Systems Inc.

The superficial femoral artery, distal to the epigastric a., is isolated from the femoral vein and measures ~ 200 m diameter on the scale.

Transonic Systems Inc.

Transonic 0.5PSB flowprobe on the superficial femoral artery distal to the epigastric a.

Transonic Systems Inc.

Sample flow trace from lower on femoral artery near the knee. Since the vessel diameter fills < 60% of the probe lumen, probe position must remain fixed for a stable measurement.

32g male CD-1 with 0.5PSB probe on superficial femoral artery Temperature 33o C.

Transonic Systems Inc.

Michael Callahan, Wake Forest Univ. Health Sciences, 2/5/2004

Experimental Setup for Femoral Artery Blood Flow Study

Close up of the Transonic nanoprobe handle clamped in a micromanipulator with two axis adjustment to fine tune and stabilize position of probe for measurement.

Transonic Systems Inc.

Experimental Setup for Femoral Artery Blood Flow Study

Probe holder with magnetic base, adjustable arm, and micro-positioning adjustment Heating pad & lamp used with gauze cover to maintain mouse core temperature. Temp. is monitored with an anal probe.

Transonic Systems 400-Series Flowmeter Console

Transonic Systems Inc.

Simultaneous Femoral Artery Blood Flow & Pressure Recording

Transonic Systems Inc.

Flow recorded from the superficial femoral a. with occlusion; Pressure recorded from the contra lateral femoral a.

Transonic Systems Inc.

Transonic Systems, Inc. gratefully acknowledges the investigators for the presentation of this data on the Transonic website. All information in this file is privileged information and may not be used without permission of the authors.

Photos and data courtesy of :

Michael F. Callahan, PhD

Thomas L. Smith, PhD

Depts. of Orthopaedic Surgery, Physiology & Pharmacology, Wake Forest University Health Sciences Winston-Salem, North Carolina Edited by Margo Sosa, Sr. Product Manager Transonic Systems, Inc. www.transonic.com December 2004

Transonic Systems Inc.