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Comparative Medicine

Research Support



Veterinary Medical Care, Surgical Services & Facilities, & Perioperative Support

  • Veterinary Medical Care: The VSC Veterinary Care Unit provides preventative medical care; surveillance, diagnosis, treatment and control of disease; emergency care; anesthesia and analgesia; surgery and post operative care; and euthanasia. The veterinary staff can also provide consultation in appropriate animal models, animal husbandry techniques, experimental methodology, anesthesia/analgesia, surgical techniques, euthanasia and Animal Use Protocol development. Contact the VSC Clinical Services Director, Dr. Sherril Green, at 650-723-6113 for further information. See the "VSC Rates" page of this web site for prices of services.
  • Surgical Services & Facilities: The VSC Surgical Facilities include five operating rooms equipped with inhalation gas anesthetic machines, ventilators, electrocautery and suction machines, capnographs, pulse oximeters, EKG monitoring, apnea monitors, dopplers, blood gas analysis machine, centrifuge, glucometer, and an automated electrolyte analyzer. Circulating water blankets, operating tables, instrument and IV stands, fluid pumps are also provided in all surgical areas. Surgical support services are also available. To reserve the VSC surgical facilities or to arrange for surgical support services, contact the VSC Veterinary Care Area at 650-725-3887. See the "VSC Rates" page of this web site for prices of services.
  • Perioperative Support: The VSC maintains a fully equipped ICU and provides comprehensive care for surgical patients recovering from anesthesia after invasive experimental procedures, or for patients with spontaneous illness requiring intensive care. Prior arrangements with the veterinary and animal caretaking staff can provide 24 hour direct care when necessary. The staff has extensive experience with life-support monitoring methods, mechanically assisted ventilation, analgesia, and resusitative techniques adapted to accommodate a wide range of species, ranging in body weight size from 20 grams to 80 kilograms. To arrange for perioperative support services, contact the VSC Veterinary Care Area at 650-725-3887. See the "VSC Rates" page of this web site for prices of services.

Veterinary Technical Services

The Veterinary Care Unit provides technical services to support the research needs of individuals who use animal models. These services include: immunization, parenteral injection or oral administration of pharmaceutical agents and other experimental materials; blood and/or serum collection; surgical manipulations; placement of intravascular catheters; endotracheal intubation; anesthetic administration and other procedures as needed. For those who wish to perform the procedures themselves but are inexperienced, training in these techniques is available from the Veterinary Care Unit at no charge.

You may request veterinary technical services by completing a "Request for AHT Assistance" form available on the "VSC Forms" page of this web site or on the door of the RAF Pharmacy (AFO3C). See the "VSC Rates" page of this web site for prices of services. Contact one of the VSC Registered Veterinary Technicians at 650-725-3887 for more information.


Diagnostic Laboratory Services

The Diagnostic Laboratory offers clinical laboratory services to investigators in the biomedical community. We have a wide spectrum of tests including: Hematology, Chemistry, Serology/Immunology, Parasitology and Microbiology, specializing in the diagnostic and research needs of laboratory animals. New tests are continuously being added as the experimental needs change and the number of requests warrants them. We also have a network of reference laboratories available to provide tests that are not performed in-house. The Laboratory staff is committed to research in improved diagnostics, reference range development, pathogenesis of disease, preventative health surveillance and disease management. Consultation and training is also available.

The Diagnostic Laboratory services are provided Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., PDT. The Laboratory is located in RAF-1, AF065. Lab reports, usually with species specific reference ranges, can be picked up at the lab or faxed directly to your site. Daily patient reports as well as cumulative patient reports are available. Cumulative patients need to be identified at the beginning of the study. Supplies for sample submission are provided at no additional cost to customers. Testing may be provided at no cost to per diem investigators as approved by a VSC veterinarian for those animals experiencing spontaneous illness or death. For additional pricing information see the "VSC Rates" page of this web site. For guidance on tests or sample submission, turn around times or any other inquires, contact the Diagnostic Laboratory at 650- 723-3878.


Veterinary Pathology

Veterinary Pathology services are provided Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Request for necropsy service on nights, weekends, and holidays should be directly submitted to the veterinary technician or clinical veterinarian on duty (room AR008 or call 650-723-4408 for instructions). The necropsy facility is located in RAF I, room AF064. This facility is equipped with a down-draft necropsy table and chemical fume hood. The necropsy room is available for investigator use free-of-charge providing the facility is cleaned after use and all animal wastes are properly disposed. Pathology services are provided at no cost to per diem investigators as approved by a VSC clinical veterinarian for those animals which experience spontaneous illness or death. Please see the "VSC Rates" page of this web site or call the VSC office (650-723-3876) for prices of services. Animals which unexpectedly die after experimental procedures may also be necropsied free of charge on a limited basis. Fees are charged for pathology services rendered in support of an experimental study. These services are at the discretion of the Pathologist whose scientific collaboration should be sought prior to initiating the study.

Upon receipt of an animal carcass and completed necropsy request, the necropsy room staff enters the information into the laboratory log, performs the dissection, and obtains specimens for culture, histologic evaluation, and other pertinent studies. A final report, combining gross and histopathology findings with laboratory test results, is sent to the investigator and to the VSC clinicians.

Investigators wishing to obtain additional information or perform necropsies should contact the Necropsy Office at 650-725-0941. Assistance in learning necropsy procedures is available free of charge.


Histology Services

The Department of Comparative Medicine’s Histology Lab is located in Edwards R330. It provides a comprehensive range of histological research techniques that include: standard paraffin processing and embedding methods as well as hand processing for larger specimens; special orientation of tissues; serial sectioning, step sectioning, and sectioning of frozen specimens. Special equipment is available to block tissues in a standardized thickness or orientation to match images from MRI, CT, etc. or for unbiased stereology. In addition to the routine hematoxylin and eosin staining (H&E) of paraffin sections, there are special stains to highlight specific cells, tissue components, bacteria, or other cellular elements and immunoperoxidase and apoptosis assays. Muscle histochemistry and silver stains of nervous system tissues are a specialty. Many histological techniques are sensitive to methods that are used for freezing or fixing the tissues, and results may depend on appropriate specimen preparation; we suggest consulting with a pathologist before collecting specimens. For more information, contact Pauline Chu at 650-723-7235.


Husbandry Technical Services

The VSC Animal Husbandry Unit provides a range of technical services including: mouse breeding management (mating, sex identification, weaning, pregnancy determination); mouse rederivations; autoclaved rodent caging and supplies; irradiation facility; housing facilities for infectious animals up to BL-3; rodent isolators (limited space); metabolic rodent caging (limited number of cages); quarantine services; rodent euthanasia; procedure rooms for animal manipulations (free of charge, instruments and supplies not included); special feeding and/or watering requests; and animal transportation.

For more information regarding Husbandry Technical Services, please contact the VSC Operations Manager Reese Zasio at or (650) 725-3882. Request forms for some of these services and a general description of the husbandry program at Stanford can be found elsewhere on this web site.


Rodent Breeding Colony

The VSC maintains a rodent breeding colony of mice for sale to Stanford university Principal Investigators. Current strains available for purchase include: BALB/cKa, C3H/Km, C.B17-SCID, SW-NUDE, C57BL/Ka (Thy 1.2) and BA1.1 (Thy1.1). Mice can be purchased at a specific age/sex or as timed-pregnant animals.

For more information, contact Edward Florendo at 725-6808.


Minor Procedures and Facilities

Procedural rooms located in Research Animal Facilities I and II are available for minor procedures such as bleeding, injections, treatments, etc. in all species, and can be used for rodent surgery. These rooms are available for use by investigative personnel on a first-come, first-served basis. To arrange to use one of these rooms, sign up on the schedule posted on each procedural room or contact the VSC Operations Manager at 650-725-3882.


Radiography/Irradiation Services

The VSC maintains radiography facilities for diagnostic and experimental use in Research Animal Facility (RAF) - I (room AF003A). Radiography services are provided at no cost to per diem investigators for those animals which experience spontaneous illness. Services are billed to the investigator whenever their animal experiences illness or death resulting from experimental manipulations. For radiology services, contact the VSC at 650-725-3887.

An irradiator is available for use by research personnel and is located in RAF-II (room AR038). Only qualified individuals who have been trained and certified by VSC may operate this unit. To use the irradiator, contact the VSC Facility Operations Manager at 650-725-3882.


Embryo Cryopreservation and Rederivation

The Department of Comparative Medicine has developed embryo cryo-preservation and rederivation services to protect the valuable mouse colonies at Stanford. These services will provide insurance against future disease outbreaks by securing our valuable mouse strains as frozen embryos and will allow us to eliminate any existing contamination with mouse pathogens by rederiving infected mice. Additionally, an embryo cryopreservation program provides the opportunity for you to more efficiently manage your mouse colonies by archiving (as frozen embryos) those mice that are not under investigation without the costs associated with maintaining a breeding population.

We will offer embryo cryopreservation and rederivation services using well-established and proven methods. For example, mouse embryos have been successfully cryopreserved for more than 30 years using controlled-rate freezing methods. These frozen preimplantation stage embryos can be thawed and surgically implanted into the uterus or oviduct of pseudopregnant recipient mice to reconstitute the mouse strain for research use on an as-needed basis. This embryo transfer method is also the gold standard for eliminating unwanted infectious agents from mouse colonies. Therefore, the methods employed to reconstitute mice from frozen embryos are identical to those used for embryo transfer rederivation. In both procedures the health status of the reconstituted or rederived mouse changes, and corresponds to that of the recipient mouse. But, this change in health status must be verified; this is accomplished by testing the foster mothers prior to releasing reconstituted or rederived pups into the general population.

To learn about the basic steps of embryo cryopreservation and rederivation, including cost projections, click here. To request this service, use the Crypreservation Request Form, also found the on the "VSC Forms" page of this web site. See the "VSC Rates" page of this web site for prices of services. For further information, contact Dr. Donna Bouley.