Liberating carotid arteries: measuring arterial pressure through femoral artery in mice

Researches involving arterial pressure measurements in mice have primarily relied on carotid arterial catheterization. However, in some circumstances, measuring arterial pressure through the carotid arterial impairs accuracy. This study was aimed to evaluate whether femoral artery could displace carotid artery for the blood pressure (BP) measurements in mice. Fifty-six Swiss mice (n = 14 in each group) were randomized into four groups: control, left femoral artery, right femoral artery, and union group, in which BP was measured through left carotid, left femoral, right femoral artery, and simultaneously from right femoral artery and left carotid artery, respectively. Arterial pressure was recorded for 5 min after catheterization. There was no significant difference of the success rate and mortality rate among four groups (P > 0.05), and no obvious difference (P > 0.05) of catheterization time among the first three groups. For intergroup comparison of arterial pressure, there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) of the systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic BP, mean arterial pressure, and pulse pressure among the first three groups. For intragroup comparison, SBP, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) monitored from right femoral artery were similar (P > 0.05) with those from left carotid artery, with significantly positive correlation. The mean values of difference of SBP, DBP, and MAP were -1.3, 1.2, and 0.5 mmHg, respectively. Our results indicated that femoral artery catheterization could be a safe, feasible, reliable, and accuracy alternative for the direct measurement of arterial pressure in anesthesia mice.