Acute carotid artery occlusive thrombosis and its pharmacological prevention in the rabbit

A simple and reproducible method to induce an occlusive thrombus in rabbit carotid artery is reported. Rabbits were anesthetized and prepared to record arterial pressure, heart rate, and carotid blood flow. A critical stenosis of a damaged carotid artery was obtained using an external plastic cylinder. Complete occlusion occurred within 6 to 12 minutes, as measured by the decrease in blood flow. Both stenosis of the vessel and deliberate damage (clamping by surgical forceps) were found essential to occlusion. Occlusion was prevented by administration of heparin (200 IU/kg), tissue plasminogen activator (300 micrograms/kg), iloprost (10 micrograms/kg) or the synthetic thrombin inhibitor, FPRCH2Cl (0.5 mg/kg), while ASA (100 mg/kg) was uneffective. The procedure permits an easy and rapid evaluation of thrombus formation and of anti-thrombotic drugs affecting the hemostatic process.