Animals are used in research because some of them particularly mammals are similar to humans when it comes to anatomy and physiology. They are used to test the toxicity of drugs and drug treatments for various diseases. It is more complex and sometimes unethical to conduct those studies on humans.
There are some limitations to the application of animal data to human physiology; for example, reaction of an animal to a certain drug being tested does not necessarily mean that it would have the same effects on human. Despite the similarities in physiology between humans and animals, however, human physiology is unique and utilizing animals in research may not bring any useful information to the studies, which make the animal research unnecessary.
There are viable alternatives to animal research; for example, drug reactions can be studied in the laboratory using cell or tissue culture. Diseases and underlying treatments can also be studied using human cells in the lab. Today, the computer technology is highly advanced, and there are programs with various simulations and also three-dimensional modeling which are quite useful for studying human physiology.
There are viable alternatives to animal research; for example, drug reactions can be studied in the laboratory using cell or tissue culture. Diseases and underlying treatments can also be studied using human cells in the lab. Today, the computer technology is highly advanced, and there are programs with various simulations and also three-dimensional modeling which are quite useful for studying human physiology.
Campbell, Biology: Concepts & Connections