Congenital megacolon rats were found in offspring of a female albino rat crossed with a wild male by Ikadai et al. at Institute for Animal Reproduction in 1973 and were named Aganglionosis Rat (AR)
AR rats are characterized by megacolon and white coat color with a small pigmented spot on the head. AR shows a long constricted segment of the intestine, which extended from the distal ileum to the rectum. Histologically, myenteric and submucosal plexus are absent. AR is considered to be an animal model of Hirshsprung???s disease. AR dies of an intestinal obstruction from 1 to 5 weeks of age. The autosomal recessive spotting lethal, sl, was revealed to be caused by a 301-bp interstitial deletion of Endothelin B receptor (Ednrb)