Abstract: | An allometric method for estimating the volume change in inflamed paw of rats is described. The technique is effective and advantageous for long term observation of adjuvant arthritis which lacks a suitable reference criterion due to the simultaneous swelling of the control paw. In the present method, the inflammatory intensity (IF) of paw edema is estimated by means of the formula; IF(%)=(2Vr/cXd(I+Wt/aXb)-I) X 100 where Vt is the paw volume, Wt is the body weight weight and X is the tail length of the inflamed rat. The constants a, b, c, and d are obtained from tthe normal rats using the relative growth law, W=aXb and V=cXd (where W is the body weight, V is the paw volume and X is the tail length). |