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You are here: Pain Categories
Pain Categories
Center for Laboratory Animal Care - USDA Pain Categories Copyright © UConn Health Center. All rights reserved.
- Category B--used for breeding or holding animal where no research is being conducted - not appropriate for experimentally manipulated animals (e.g. transgenic knockout, unweaned offspring not used in experiments).
- Category C--routine injections of non-toxic, non-irritating substances, venipuncture; minimal, transient, or no pain or distress
- Category D*--procedures cause more than minimal or transient pain/or distress - appropriate anesthetics, analgesics, or tranquilizers are used; (e.g. all survival and non-survival surgery, NSAIDS given to animals used in arthritis model).
- Category E*--procedures cause more than minimal or transient pain and/or distress but cannot be performed using anesthetics, analgesics or tranquilizers without adversely affecting the study. Mechanical restraint may, depending upon duration and type of restraint, be considered a category "E" study. Requires detailed scientific justification. Institutions must report all covered species used in Category E to USDA. USDA issues an annual report containing this information to the public. Pain Category E requires scientific justification. Any abnormalities that result from genetic manipulation (mutants) should be fully described in the Breeding Addendum.