A Rev iew of

Respiratory System
A n a t o m y, P h y s i o l o g y,
and Disease in the
M o u s e , R a t , H a m s t e r,
and Gerbil
Melissa A. Kling, DVM

KEYWORDS
 Rodent  Chronic  Respiratory  Disease  Mycoplasmosis
 Sendai virus  Cilia-associated respiratory bacillus

The purpose of this article is to provide for practitioners a comprehensive overview of

respiratory diseases1,2 in the mouse, rat, hamster, and gerbil, whether they treat
family-owned pets, classroom pets, animals housed in nature/wildlife centers, pet
stores, zoos, commercial breeding operations, or laboratory animal facilities. The
information presented will also be useful for veterinarians pursuing board certification.
Anatomy and physiology are briefly addressed, as those two facets alone could
encompass an entire article for these species.
Print and electronic resources have vastly increased in recent years, and our knowl-
edge of exotic animal medicine continues to develop. Therefore, practitioners must
stay on the cutting edge of this information.
Basic principles of a sound workup should be followed when dealing with respira-
tory disease in these species, including anamnesis, husbandry evaluation, physical
examination, differential diagnoses, diagnostics, treatments, disease control (preven-
tion and quarantine), research complication assessment, and zoonotic potential.
Multiple animal outbreaks should employ the same systematic approach as individual
animal situations. Standard criteria are discussed here, and specifics as they apply to
individual diseases are addressed in later sections.
Genetically engineered mice (GEMs), immunodeficient (ID), and immunosuppressed
animals are at increased risk for disease expression than their immunocompentent (IC)

The author has nothing to disclose.

Division of Basic Medical Sciences and Laboratory Animal Resources, Mercer University School
of Medicine, 1550 College Avenue, Box 165, Macon, GA 31207, USA
E-mail address: kling_m@mercer.edu

Vet Clin Exot Anim 14 (2011) 287–337

doi:10.1016/j.cvex.2011.03.007 vetexotic.theclinics.com
1094-9194/11/$ – see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.