Atherosclerosis in the rat

Rats are generally considered to be resistant to naturally occurring and experimentally induced atherosclerosis. In this review, data are presented which show that rats do develop arterial lesions. Spontaneous lesions can be detected microscopically only if a very large number of slides from different sites are screened. Heroic treatments, including extreme diets, hypothyreoidy, mechanical trauma of the arteries and hypertension, have been used to induce more easily detectable arterial lesions. Special strains of rats with increased susceptibility to atherogenesis have been developed. Although the induced atherosclerotic lesions in rats are generally quite different from those in man, the rat might be suitable to study specific aspects of atherosclerosis or to serve as a bioassay to identify factors promoting atherosclerosis.