Facial expression
Langford et al. (2010) created the “mouse grimace scale” which is the first scoring system for facial categorization in rodents and also the firs study of facial expressions of pain in nonhuman specie. This scale was done with an acetic acid constriction test and measures five facial features, adapted from human facial pain expression studies, and scores them with a value where “0” there is no pain present, “1” it is moderately visible and “2” is severe. Finally, each mouse receives a global pain or no-pain mark. The features are individually examined and are the following. “Orbital tightening” is a narrowing of the ocular area with closed eyelid or eye squeeze. “Cheek bulge” is described as the convex appearance of the cheek, where “nose bulge” is a rounding of the skin on the bridge of he nose. “Ear position” was measured from the distance of the ear to their normal baseline position and “whisker change” was determined by a forward or back position. The grimace scale proves to be a rapid and reliable clinical pain assessment, which shows a high positive correlation with other behavioural pain assessment methods during post-surgical procedures and analgesic …show more content…
Mice possess important features that have made them the elected animal model for a diverse type of studies is widely known. However, it wasn’t until the last decade that there was an increase in the use of analgesics in painful studies on rodents (Stockes et al., 2009; Whittaker et al., 2014). Therefore, there is a need for proper pain assessment protocols in research studies that involve painful situation. It is important to understand the underlying mechanisms of pain and its assessment with effective analgesia
Langford et al. (2010) created the “mouse grimace scale” which is the first scoring system for facial categorization in rodents and also the firs study of facial expressions of pain in nonhuman specie. This scale was done with an acetic acid constriction test and measures five facial features, adapted from human facial pain expression studies, and scores them with a value where “0” there is no pain present, “1” it is moderately visible and “2” is severe. Finally, each mouse receives a global pain or no-pain mark. The features are individually examined and are the following. “Orbital tightening” is a narrowing of the ocular area with closed eyelid or eye squeeze. “Cheek bulge” is described as the convex appearance of the cheek, where “nose bulge” is a rounding of the skin on the bridge of he nose. “Ear position” was measured from the distance of the ear to their normal baseline position and “whisker change” was determined by a forward or back position. The grimace scale proves to be a rapid and reliable clinical pain assessment, which shows a high positive correlation with other behavioural pain assessment methods during post-surgical procedures and analgesic …show more content…
Mice possess important features that have made them the elected animal model for a diverse type of studies is widely known. However, it wasn’t until the last decade that there was an increase in the use of analgesics in painful studies on rodents (Stockes et al., 2009; Whittaker et al., 2014). Therefore, there is a need for proper pain assessment protocols in research studies that involve painful situation. It is important to understand the underlying mechanisms of pain and its assessment with effective analgesia