The mouse intradermal test, a well-established and reliable model in skin tolerance testing

The intradermal test in mice is a valuable model for assessing dermal tolerance to chemical substances. The test material is administered intracutaneously to hairless or depilated mice through a fine syringe, the animals are killed after 24 hours and the treated skin is removed, dried and assessed for reaction area, erythema and oedema. The skin fragments can be preserved as a record of the findings. While direct transfer of the findings from mouse to man is likely to be misleading, the test is well suited to comparative studies. Moreover it requires only small numbers of mice.