OSTEOMYELITIS EXPERIMENTATION ON ANIMALS
Osteomyelitis refers to a bone infection, almost always caused by a bacteria. Overtime the result can be destruction of the bone itself.
The goat was part of a bigger study with 28 other goats. They had a 3 mm hole drilled into their legs and were injected with 1 mL of sodium morrhuate (a corrosive chemical), then followed by Staphylococcus aureus and cefazolin (to prevent fatal sepsis). The goats were then followed for 12-16 weeks after the injections, and then sacrificed at week 16 the latest. All but one of the goats developed osteomyelitis as a result of the experiment.
The goat was part of a bigger study with 28 other goats. They had a 3 mm hole drilled into their legs and were injected with 1 mL of sodium morrhuate (a caustic chemical), then followed by Staphylococcus aureus and cefazolin (to prevent fatal sepsis). The goats were then followed for 12-16 weeks after the injections, and then sacrificed at week 16 the latest. All but one of the goats developed osteomyelitis as a result of the experiment, but the goats were not the only animals involved in the experimentation. The experiments involved mice, rats, rabbits, birds/chickens, sheep and even dogs. All of which suffered different procedures that led up to the goats being the most comprehensive study.
The rabbits were the first to be used in the experiment, they had to have a bone fractured (manually) and then injected with the bacteria. The purpose of the rabbits were to see the importance of preparing the bone before injecting the bacteria inside of them (for proper development of the infection). Second came the rats, had the same procedure as the rabbits but were used to test different antibiotics on the bacteria.
Third came the mice, and two different methods were applied here. Method one was having their tibia fractured and injected with the bacteria, and method two was having the bacteria injected directly into their vein. The mice were used to study how the immune system would react to having the bacteria injected and if how it stores and uses the information form the affected side of the mouse. Fourth came the bird/chicken models, they were focused on for bone trauma (either chemical or mechanical) to cause infection. Fifth came the dogs, the purpose was to evaluate the role of surgical procedures, foreign body reactions, and the effectiveness of local antimicrobial therapy. The canines were injected with the bacteria and then had a stainless steal cylinder inserted into the are in which the bacteria was injected then it was sealed up.
Sixth came the sheep, the purpose was to form a chronic, progressive, and sustainable infection. The sheep had a hole drilled into the femur, then had 1 mL 3% tetradecylsodiumsulfate solution (helps with blood clots) was injected, and 5 minutes later experimental animals were injected with the bacteria. Then last came the goats previously mentioned at the beginning.
Sources:
Patel, Mitul, et al. “Animal Models for the Study of Osteomyelitis.” Seminars in Plastic Surgery, Thieme Medical Publishers, May 2009, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2884898/figure/f23148-1/?report=objectonly.
Ana, et al. “Osteomyelitis and Periosteal Reaction in a Red Brocket Deer (Mazama Americana).” Revista Colombiana De Ciencias Pecuarias, Universidad De Antioquia, June 2013, www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?pid=S0120-06902013000200009&script=sci_arttext.