Lab Animal 34, 7 (2005)
doi:10.1038/laban0705-27
Laboratory culture and maintenance of the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus)Stephen A. Smith DVM PhD1
& Jim Berkson PhD21
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Phase II, Duck Pond Dr., Blacksburg, VA 24061. 2
National Marine Fisheries Service RTR Unit, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 100 Cheatham Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061.
Correspondence should be addressed to Stephen A. Smith DVM PhD Often referred to as a living fossil, the American horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, is one of the most-studied invertebrate animals in the world. It has served as a model in Nobel Prize–winning eye research, and researchers use a component of its blood to detect bacterial contamination in medical devices and drugs. The authors review the conditions necessary for housing these animals in the laboratory.
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