New modification of suspension hypokinesia in rats.

The problem of space flights called for the need to construct ground-base models which imitate or simulate some reactions of the organism to the complex of spaceflight factors, mainly to microgravity. In this review the processes and models simulating flight factors and their advantages and disadvantages are described. The authors have supplemented the models used until now by a new modification of suspension hypokinesia, so-called safety-pin suspension. This model appears to be simple and inexpensive. It causes relatively weak traumatic stress and this may be demonstrated by daily weighing of the animals.