Background: Burn infliction techniques are poorly described in rat models. An accurate studycan only be achieved with wounds that are uniform in size and depth. We describe a simplereproducible method for creating consistent burn wounds in rats. Methods: Ten male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized and dorsum shaved. A 100 gcylindrical stainless-steel rod (1 cm diameter) was heated to 100°C in boiling water. Temperature was monitored using a thermocouple. We performed two consecutive toe-pinchtests on different limbs to assess the depth of sedation. Burn infliction was limited to theloin. The skin was pulled upwards, away from the underlying viscera, creating a flat surface. The rod rested on its own weight for 5, 10, and 20 seconds at three different sites on eachrat. Wounds were evaluated for size, morphology and depth. Results: Average wound size was 0.9957 cm2 (standard deviation [SD] 0.1845) (n=30). Wounds created with duration of 5 seconds were pale, with an indistinct margin of erythema. Wounds of 10 and 20 seconds were well-defined, uniformly brown with a rim of erythema. Average depths of tissue damage were 1.30 mm (SD 0.424), 2.35 mm (SD 0.071), and 2.60mm (SD 0.283) for duration of 5, 10, 20 seconds respectively. Burn duration of 5 secondsresulted in full-thickness damage. Burn duration of 10 seconds and 20 seconds resulted infull-thickness damage, involving subjacent skeletal muscle. Conclusions: This is a simple reproducible method for creating burn wounds consistent insize and depth in a rat burn model.