Declaración Instucional sobre el uso de animales en experimentación.
	Declaración de apoyo a la Directiva Europea 2010/63/UE Relativa a la protección de los animales utilizados con fines científicos.

The mission of the Comparative Medicine Unit at the National Cardiovascular Research Center (CNIC) is to advance knowledge and improve the health and well-being of humans and animals, providing an excellent service to the researcher.

The Unit provides technical support of different kinds to all CNIC research groups.

One of our first objectives is to provide care and maintenance to the animal models so that they are in the best conditions, providing them with adequate housing spaces, environmental enrichment so that they can develop a large part of their natural behaviors.

We have different areas, depending on the species housed:

• Rodent area
• Large animals area
• Aquarium

In addition, a series of services are provided to the groups to provide additional support to the research:

• Colony management service
• Histopathology service
• Cardiovascular physiology service
• Clinical analysis service

Added to these services, we have a microbiology service, which we use mainly to monitor the health status of the animals, and we also collaborate with different laboratories to help them in this aspect.

Highlight that the Unit obtained and maintains, since 2011, the ISO 9001 quality certification. For which, we undergo annual audits, both internal and external. The latter carried out by international certification entities.

Technology

To house the animals, we have the necessary equipment so that they are in optimal conditions.

In addition to the rooms and equipment necessary for housing, such as ventilated racks for rodents, aquarium equipment with redundant water processing unit, sectored pens that allow groups of animals or individual animals to be housed depending on their weight, there is accessory equipment for cleaning, disinfection and decontamination of housing equipment and rooms and cabins, such as autoclaves, cage and bottle washing tunnel, vertical washing machine for washing and sanitizing structures, vaporized hydrogen peroxide decontaminator. .etc.

Added to this equipment, we have other equipment for the different services provided by the unit. As an example, some are listed.

• Histopathology service
• Magnifying glasses
• Microtomes
• Cryostat.
• Evener
• Automated staining equipment
• Cardiovascular physiology service
• ECG team
• Blood pressure team
• Clinical analysis service
• Hematology team
• Clinical biochemistry team
• Coagulation team