Intraventricular hemorrhage in the premature rabbit pup. Limitations of this animal model

The authors used the premature rabbit model to examine the pathophysiology of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). They studied the brains of 167 control animals, of 45 animals after a hypertensive insult, of three animals after a bolus infusion of normal saline, and of 10 animals after both insults. In none of the brains was IVH identified. Limited reproducibility may restrict the use of this animal model.