Research in veterinary science
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Pigs are important animal models in veterinary and medical research and have been widely used in experiments requiring surgical anesthesia. Sevoflurane is an inhalant anesthetic with unique properties that make it an ideal anesthetic for mask induction and anesthesia maintenance. However, there are relatively few studies reporting the anesthetic requirements for sevoflurane in juvenile swine, an age group that is commonly used in research experiments. ⋯ Sevoflurane anesthesia was induced in six Yorkshire-cross pigs of approximately 9 weeks-of-age and MAC for sevoflurane was determined. The sevoflurane MAC value was determined to be 3.5+/-0.1% which is notably higher than values reported in the literature for pigs. This discrepancy in MAC values may represent changes in anesthetic requirements between different age groups of pigs and differences in the type of stimulus used to determine MAC.