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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Methods Mol Biol. 2015;1229:483–496. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-1714-3_37

Figure 2. Inferior Vena Cava Venous Thrombosis Model.

Figure 2

(A) Anatomy of the retroperitoneum of the mouse as viewed from a ventral abdominal incision. The positions of the animal’s head and tail relative to the drawing are indicated. The black arrows indicate the direction of blood flow in the major vessels. (B) Thrombosis Model. Step 1 - A ligature is loosely placed around the inferior vena cava caudal to the left renal vein. A steel suture or other linear object such as a needle is also placed within the ligature. Step 2 – The ligature is tightened around the vessel and steel suture. Step 3 – The steel suture is gently removed from the ligature. This results in the ligature restricting flow through the vena cava without completely blocking it. Step 4 – Forceps are used to crimp the vena cava immediately below the suture, and (Step 5) 5 millimeters caudal to the suture to injure the vessel endothelium. (C) twenty-four hours after surgery, the abdomen is reopened, and the vena cava is excised for processing by cutting the vessel immediately above (cranial) to the ligature, and just above the iliac bifurcation.