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Morphology of the Small-Animal Lung Using Magnetic Resonance Microscopy

Center for In Vivo Microscopy, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina

Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Laurence W. Hedlund, Ph.D., Center for In Vivo Microscopy, Box 3302, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710. E-mail: laurence.hedlund{at}duke.edu

ABSTRACT

Small-animal imaging with magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM) has become an important tool in biomedical research. When MRM is used to image perfusion-fixed and "stained" whole mouse specimens, cardiopulmonary morphology can be visualized, nondestructively, in exquisite detail in all three dimensions. This capability can be a valuable tool for morphologic phenotyping of different mouse strains commonly used in genomics research. When these imaging techniques are combined with specialized methods for biological motion control and animal support, the lungs of the live, small animal can be imaged. Although in vivo imaging may not achieve the high resolution possible with a fixed specimen, dynamic functional studies and survival studies that follow the progression of pulmonary change related to disease or environmental exposure are possible. By combining conventional proton imaging with gas imaging, using hyperpolarized ³He, it is possible to image the tissue and gas compartments of the lung. This capability is illustrated in studies on an emphysema model in rats and on radiation damage of the lung. With further improvements in imaging and animal handling technology, we will be able to image faster and at higher resolutions, making MRM an even more valuable research tool.

Key Words: fixed specimens • in vivo • lung • magnetic resonance microscopy • rodent

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Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society 2005 2: 499-516. [Full Text]  

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