The natural course of experimental cerebral infarction in the gerbil

The study of any disease process is greatly advanced by the availability of an animal model for laboratory investigation. Cerebral infarction has been difficult to reproduce experimentally because of the efficiency of the collateral circulation. It has recently been demonstrated that a unilateral hemispheric infarction can be produced i n the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) by ligation of a single common carotid artery.' This unique characteristic of the gerbil is due to an absence of connecting a r t e r i e s between the basilar and carotid systems.* The present study was undertaken to determine the reproducibility of the modcl and to document for the first time the natural cc)urse of events following ligation. These base-line data can then be used to evaluate the efficiency of theraupeutic agents in modifying morbidity and mortality.