Use of a fluid dispensing apparatus for bronchoalveolar lavage in mice

The volume of the mouse lung is small, so bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in mice is generally performed with 1 ml syringes to infuse smaller volumes of fluid. Multiple infusions are required to obtain enough recovered fluid for multiple analyses. This paper introduces the use of one type of a simple fluid dispensing apparatus as an infusion device. It proved to be a faster and a less tedious method than the syringe infusion method. The results of studies in normal mice using both infusion techniques showed no differences between the two with respect to the recovery of cells and protein and to differential leukocyte counts. Thus, the results obtained with this device can be compared with those previously obtained with syringes.