Criteria for selecting the animal to meet the research need

Prior to designing any study which utilizes animals, a number of criteria should be considered. One should decide whether alternatives to intact animal usage (tissue culture systems or mathematical models) will provide acceptable results. Perhaps there is a naturally-occurring animal model which resembles the condition to be studied. Careful consideration should then be made to select the correct animal species, the genotypic, microbial status and numbers of such animals needed. Once the study has been completed, these animal-related factors should be considered when interpreting the data.