In animal models, oedema has become an accepted indicator of tissue damage from a thermal injury in the acute phase. Animal models have utilised either the hind paws for volume measurement using the mercury displacement technique or the ears for wet-dry tissue mass ratio to calculate total water content of the tissues. The former method had the advantage of allowing serial measurements over time, while the latter required sacrifice of the animal. These models also suffered the restriction that the burn had to be created in such a way as to avoid blistering, as this interferes with the measurement of oedema.