Necropsy and Gross Pathology

Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1066 Necropsy Room............................................................................................................................ 1066 Necropsy Tools ............................................................................................................................ 1067 Personal Protective Equipment ............................................................................................... 1068 Necropsy Setup ............................................................................................................................ 1068 Study Protocol and Necropsy ...................................................................................................... 1068 Necropsy Team ............................................................................................................................ 1069 Participants .............................................................................................................................. 1069 Responsibilities ....................................................................................................................... 1069 Training ................................................................................................................................... 1070 Prenecropsy Meeting ................................................................................................................... 1071 Necropsy Forms ........................................................................................................................... 1071 Observations Recording .......................................................................................................... 1071 Documentation and Procedure for Missing Tissues ............................................................... 1073 Documentation and Procedure for Unscheduled Deaths and Necropsies .............................. 1074 Tissue Collection .......................................................................................................................... 1075 Fixation ........................................................................................................................................ 1075 Necropsy and Gross Pathology Terminology .............................................................................. 1076 Tissues Collected During Necropsy ............................................................................................ 1084 Necropsy Procedures by Species ................................................................................................. 1085 Gross ....................................................................................................................................... 1085 Full or Detailed ....................................................................................................................... 1086 Organ Weights ............................................................................................................................. 1089 Scales ...................................................................................................................................... 1089 Procedures ............................................................................................................................... 1089 Special Necropsy Procedures ...................................................................................................... 1091 Eye Removal ........................................................................................................................... 1091 Blood Smears .......................................................................................................................... 1092 INTRODUCTION A well-managed necropsy operation provides asystem that assures that all protocol-required tissues and gross lesions are observed, recorded, and properly ‹xed, for possible future histopathologyevaluation. In regulated safety studies, anecropsy is performed to determine cause of death and/or to detect induced or coincidental pathologic alterations in tissues. Typically, a complete necropsy includes examination of the external aspects of the body, all ori‹ces-the cranial, thoracic,abdominal, and pelvic cavities and their contents-and the musculature, subcutis, and bone. However, gross observations only in necropsies can also be performed depending upon the type of study, the objective of the study, or the limitations set by the protocol and the sponsor.