Forni M
Dipartimento di Morfofisiologia Veterinaria e produzioni Animali, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Vet Res Commun. 2007 Aug;31 Suppl 1:43-7. doi: 10.1007/s11259-007-0096-2.
The contribution of animal experimentation to biomedical research is of undoubted value, nevertheless the real usefulness of animal models is still being hotly debated. Laboratory Animal Science is a multidisciplinary approach to humane animal experimentation that allows the choice of the correct animal model and the collection of unbiased data. Refinement, Reduction and Replacement, the "3Rs rule", are now widely accepted and have a major influence on animal experimentation procedures. Refinement, namely any decrease in the incidence or severity of inhumane procedures applied to animals, has been today extended to the entire lives of the experimental animals. Reduction of the number of animals used to obtain statistically significant data may be achieved by improving experimental design and statistical analysis of data. Replacement refers to the development of validated alternative methods. A Laboratory Animal Science training program in biomedical degrees can promote the 3Rs and improve the welfare of laboratory animals as well as the quality of science with ethical, scientific and economic advantages complying with the European requirement that "persons who carry out, take part in, or supervise procedures on animals, or take care of animals used in procedures, shall have had appropriate education and training".
动物实验对生物医学研究的贡献具有毋庸置疑的价值，然而动物模型的实际效用仍在激烈争论中。实验动物科学是一种用于人道动物实验的多学科方法，它能选择正确的动物模型并收集无偏差的数据。优化、减少和替代，即“3R原则”，如今已被广泛接受，并对动物实验程序产生重大影响。优化，即应用于动物的不人道程序在发生率或严重程度上的任何降低，如今已扩展至实验动物的整个生命过程。通过改进实验设计和数据统计分析，可以减少用于获取具有统计学意义数据的动物数量。替代是指开发经过验证的替代方法。生物医学学位中的实验动物科学培训项目可以推广3R原则，改善实验动物的福利以及科学质量，同时具有符合欧洲要求的伦理、科学和经济优势，该要求指出“进行、参与或监督动物实验程序或照料实验中所用动物的人员应接受过适当的教育和培训”。
