Abstract:

There are several aspects one should consider if thinking about building up an animal model. First of all it is important to understand that experimental models are only an attempt to mimic clinical situation and require a lot of discussion when conclusions are to be drawn with a view to humans. There will never be an ideal model. For a deeper understanding of a clinic problem or side-effect several models are needed so that the best fitting one can be chosen. This indicates that a precise formulation of the question to be answered is needed in advance. It requires a rather big budget, a lot of time and manpower to realise a large animal model that should take place in an animal intensive care. At the same time this has the benefit of more clinical relevant data acquisition. For those needing a simple model that is easy to learn and only needs an animal operation theatre but no animal intensive care unit, the rabbit model might be the right choice. It combines the small surgical impact with the possibility of long-time postoperative observation. When looking at questions dealing with DNA focus or needing animals of genetically altered strains the mouse model will fit best as it offers these advantages that normally cannot be found in other animal models. Eventually, when building up a new model one should take into account that research in literature will not replace teamwork with already experienced scientists in this field. Results will always differ from literature of other groups, because micromanagement differs. So each new experiment, especially when using a new animal model, needs a learning curve for building up one’s own know-how.