Isoflurane anesthesia in the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). 2000

J M Smith, and K C Stump
Program of Comparative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.

Isoflurane is one of the safest and most accepted anesthetic agents for reptiles, birds, and mammals. It has also been used in terrestrial amphibians. The use of inhalation agents in an entirely aquatic frog presents a new dilemma for delivery in contrast to terrestrial species. The African Clawed Frog respires by using both transcutaneous gas exchange and air breathing. These frogs remain submerged for long periods of time, thus making standard inhalation techniques impractical. We tested five methods for delivering isoflurane: 1) bubbling isoflurane and oxygen in the water, 2) intracoelomic injection, 3) subcutaneous injection, 4) intramuscular injection, and 5) topical application. For the topical application, we developed a simple technique by using an absorptive pad with a vapor-barrier backing, saturating the pad with the liquid isoflurane, and placing the pad on the back of the frog while it was confined in a plastic bowl. Although two of the three injectable routes induced anesthesia, only the topical route produced rapid induction with consistent, safe recovery. Bubbling isoflurane with oxygen into water was unsuccessful. Topical application of isoflurane was most successful and appears to be a safe and practical method that can be used as an alternative to tricaine methylsulphonate, hypothermia, or other methods for anesthetizing African Clawed Frogs.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007530 Isoflurane A stable, non-explosive inhalation anesthetic, relatively free from significant side effects.
D008297 Male Males
D005260 Female Females
D000287 Administration, Topical The application of drug preparations to the surfaces of the body, especially the skin (ADMINISTRATION, CUTANEOUS) or mucous membranes. This method of treatment is used to avoid systemic side effects when high doses are required at a localized area or as an alternative systemic administration route, to avoid hepatic processing for example. Drug Administration, Topical,Administration, Topical Drug,Topical Administration,Topical Drug Administration,Administrations, Topical,Administrations, Topical Drug,Drug Administrations, Topical,Topical Administrations,Topical Drug Administrations
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D014867 Water A clear, odorless, tasteless liquid that is essential for most animal and plant life and is an excellent solvent for many substances. The chemical formula is hydrogen oxide (H2O). (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed) Hydrogen Oxide
D014982 Xenopus laevis The commonest and widest ranging species of the clawed "frog" (Xenopus) in Africa. This species is used extensively in research. There is now a significant population in California derived from escaped laboratory animals. Platanna,X. laevis,Platannas,X. laevi
D018685 Anesthetics, Inhalation Gases or volatile liquids that vary in the rate at which they induce anesthesia; potency; the degree of circulation, respiratory, or neuromuscular depression they produce; and analgesic effects. Inhalation anesthetics have advantages over intravenous agents in that the depth of anesthesia can be changed rapidly by altering the inhaled concentration. Because of their rapid elimination, any postoperative respiratory depression is of relatively short duration. (From AMA Drug Evaluations Annual, 1994, p173) Inhalation Anesthetic,Inhalation Anesthetics,Anesthetic Gases,Anesthetic, Inhalation,Gases, Anesthetic

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