Table 1.

Casting alternative vascular beds.

Target Arterial Vascular Bed	Catheter placement	Infusion direction	Infusion rate	Notes
Brain	Thoracic aorta pointing cranially	Retrograde into the carotids	.05ml/min	Cannulate thoracic aorta, flip mouse to the prone position, open scalp, and visually monitor progress of polymer through skull.
Diaphragm	Left Ventrical	Anterograde into internal thoracic, phrenic, and intercostal	.05ml/min	Open a window in the side of the ribcage, leaving the majority of the ribcage and the diaphragm intact. Cannulate left ventrical, clip right atrium, and monitor progress from the caudal side of the diaphragm.
Upper limb musculature	Thoracic aorta pointing cranially	Retrograde into the brachiocephalic and left subclavian	.02ml/min	To optimize limb flow, tie off the carotid arteries and remove limb skin to allow visual monitoring of polymer transit into the limb musculature.
Kidney	Thoracic aorta pointing caudally	Anterograde into renal arteries	.05ml/min	The internal vasculature is filled blindly. To avoid venous transit, stop injecting when polymer is visible in a uniform punctate pattern across kidney.
Portal System	Portal vein	Anterograde into portal system	.02ml/min	Gently fold liver up to expose the portal vein.
Hepatic	Thoracic aorta pointing caudally	Anterograde into the hepatic artery	.05ml/min	Tie off portal vein prior to infusion to avoid venous transit from gut flowing into liver.
Stomach/ Intestine	Thoracic aorta pointing caudally	Anterograde into the celiac, superior mesenteric and/or inferior mesenteric	.05ml/min	Some regions of the gut are supplied by multiple arteries and may fill at different times. To avoid venous transit, tie off arteries not required for areas of interest and visually monitor the progress of the polymer.
Intra-abdominal fat pads	Thoracic aorta pointing caudally	Anterograde but vessel depends on fat pad being studied	.05ml/min	Fat pads are supplied by multiple arteries and may fill at different times. To avoid venous transit, tie off arteries not required for precise area of interest and visually monitor the progress of the polymer.
Lower limb musculature	Infrarenal aorta pointing caudally	Anterograde into the femoral arteries	.02ml/min	Remove limb skin to allow visual monitoring of polymer transit into the limb musculature.