Abstract
Current diagnosis of infection by Mycoplasma pulmonis, an important pathogen of laboratory rodent colonies worldwide, is based on serological, histopathological and culture techniques which can be slow and unreliable. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for M. pulmonis diagnosis was compared to current diagnostic methods. This PCR based technique allows a more specific, sensitive and rapid diagnosis of M. pulmonis from various tissues by comparison with culture and histopathology.