Likewise, information gained in the field of human medicine can be mined to advance veterinary medicine because of the commonalities among species that form the basis of comparative medicine. This knowledge is then applied to understanding these same processes in humans. Basic biomedical research involves the characterization of genes/proteins, the study of anatomical and physiological functions and the characterization of normal and pathological states in a variety of animal species. They are often the preferred animal model for studies of human disease and the standard species of choice for pre-clinical trials.Ĭomparative medicine is built on the ability to use information from one species to understand the same processes in other species. What is not always appreciated is the extraordinary impact that laboratory mice and rats have on biomedical research. Recall the heroic cartoon character Mighty Mouse who always “saved the day” and of course, the best known mouse of all, Disney’s Mickey Mouse. White’s beloved books: the adventurous mouse Stuart in Stuart Little or the gluttonous rat, Templeton, of Charlotte’s Web fame. A kinder image of rats and mice sometimes appears in literature – think of the rodents in E.B. 2įor many people, exposure to rodents consists of seeing them used as food for snakes or birds of prey at the zoo, or having to deal with unwanted rodents invading their dwellings. 1 More recently, infected mice have resulted in Hantavirus outbreaks including the recent scare in Yosemite National Park where many campers contracted the deadly virus from mice living in the cabins. It has been suggested recently that an apology is in order and that other influences, not rodents, were to blame. Rats have been vilified as the carriers of the infected fleas that led to the dreaded Black Plague that decimated Europe, North Africa and Central Asia in the fourteenth century. Mention mice and rats to most people and images of unsanitary conditions and urban decay come to mind. Perceptions of Mice and Rats: An Introduction
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