ArticlePloS one2012
The assessment of post-vasectomy pain in mice using behaviour and the Mouse Grimace Scale.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 109 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
109 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 210 citations in OpenAlex.
- Analgesic drug efficacy in mouse postoperative pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Lab animal · 2026Pooled it
- Administration of meloxicam to improve the welfare of mice in research: a systematic review (2000 - 2020).Veterinary research communications · 2022Pooled it
- Grimace scale, burrowing, and nest building for the assessment of post-surgical pain in mice and rats-A systematic review.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of ketamine and alfaxalone on application of a feline pain assessment scale.Journal of feline medicine and surgery · 2016Trial
- An equine pain face.Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia · 2015Trial
- Heart Rate Variability Spectral Analysis for Monitoring Autonomic Activation in a Donkey Involved in Animal-Assisted Therapy: A Single Subject Design During Animal-Assisted Therapy Sessions.Veterinary sciences · 2025Article
- Suitability of prolonged meloxicam treatment in mice seems limited due to unfavorable pharmacokinetics, side effects, and impact on home-cage behaviors.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Current practices of pain assessment and analgesic use in laboratory mice: A 2022 FELASA Working Group survey.Laboratory animals · 2025Article
- Topical neurokinin-1 receptor antagonism ameliorates ocular pain and prevents corneal nerve degeneration in an animal model of dry eye disease.Pain reports · 2025Article
- How facial expressions reveal acute pain in domestic animals with facial pain scales as a diagnostic tool.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Review
- Article
- Testing perioperative meloxicam analgesia to enhance welfare while preserving model validity in an inflammation-induced seizure model.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- The grimace scale: a useful tool for assessing pain in laboratory animals.Experimental animals · 2024Review
- From facial expressions to algorithms: a narrative review of animal pain recognition technologies.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2024Review
- How does chronic pain impact the lives of dogs: an investigation of factors that are associated with pain using the Animal Welfare Assessment Grid.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2024Article
- A Novel Scoring System for Humane Endpoints in Mice with Cecal Ligation and Puncture-Induced Sepsis.Comparative medicine · 2023Article
- Protease-Activated Receptor 2 (PAR2) Expressed in Sensory Neurons Contributes to Signs of Pain and Neuropathy in Paclitaxel Treated Mice.The journal of pain · 2023Article
- Review of Rat (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Review
- Longitudinal Studies on Alzheimer Disease Mouse Models with Multiple Tracer PET/CT: Application of Reduction and Refinement Principles in Daily Practice to Safeguard Animal Welfare during Progressive Aging.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Analysis of Various Facial Expressions of Horses as a Welfare Indicator Using Deep Learning.Veterinary sciences · 2023Article
49 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCurrent behaviour-based pain assessments for laboratory rodents have significant limitations. Assessment of facial expression changes, as a novel means of pain scoring, may overcome some of these limitations. The Mouse Grimace Scale appears to offer a means of assessing post-operative pain in mice that is as effective as manual behavioural-based scoring, without the limitations of such schemes. Effective assessment of post-operative pain is not only critical for animal welfare, but also the validity of science using animal models. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsThis study compared changes in behaviour assessed using both an automated system ("HomeCageScan") and using manual analysis with changes in facial expressions assessed using the Mouse Grimace Scale (MGS). Mice (n = 6/group) were assessed before and after surgery (scrotal approach vasectomy) and either received saline, meloxicam or bupivacaine. Both the MGS and manual scoring of pain behaviours identified clear differences between the pre and post surgery periods and between those animals receiving analgesia (20 mg/kg meloxicam or 5 mg/kg bupivacaine) or saline post-operatively. Both of these assessments were highly correlated with those showing high MGS scores also exhibiting high frequencies of pain behaviours. Automated behavioural analysis in contrast was only able to detect differences between the pre and post surgery periods.
conclusionsIn conclusion, both the Mouse Grimace Scale and manual scoring of pain behaviours are assessing the presence of post-surgical pain, whereas automated behavioural analysis could be detecting surgical stress and/or post-surgical pain. This study suggests that the Mouse Grimace Scale could prove to be a quick and easy means of assessing post-surgical pain, and the efficacy of analgesic treatment in mice that overcomes some of the limitations of behaviour-based assessment schemes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.