Gross composition and plasma and extracellular water volumes of tissues of a reference mouse

The laboratory mouse is a primary animal model for experimental radiation biology and pharmacology. The usefulness of the mouse for those purposes is enhanced if detailed data are available to define a Reference Mouse [weight and composition of soft tissues and bones and their in-life content of plasma and extracellular water (ECW)]. Only fragmentary data are available for wet weights and plasma volumes of soft tissues and bones of mice; there are no reports of total volume or distribution of ECW in mouse tissues. To remedy those defects, wet weight and composition of all major organs and soft tissues were measured, and measurements were made or estimates obtained for wet weights and composition of all bones of the young adult (12 to 13 wk old) female Swiss-Webster mouse. 125I-transferrin was used as a tracer for plasma, and 22Na was used as a tracer for ECW. Tissue weight and tracer measurements were conducted using the metabolic balance approach and a freezing technique that avoids blood loss during dissection. Results compare favorably with published weights and plasma volumes of tissues of mature mice of both genders and other strains. Total plasma volume (48.9 +/- 4.4 microL g-1) and Na-space (232 +/- 15 microL g-1), and the specific plasma and ECW volumes of vascular mouse tissues, exceed those of rat tissues. Applications of the data are presented: (1) interpretation of plutonium uptake kinetics in the mouse; (2) estimation of masses of mineralized bone tissue (1.92 g), bone marrow (1.2 g), and endosteal (BS) cells (0.2 g) of the mouse.