Animal models in pediatric surgery

Excerpt

The advent of animal models of pediatric surgical diseases has not only allowed us to study the etiology and pathogenesis of complex congenital anomalies but has also led to major advances in the surgical and therapeutic management of these conditions. Even though representative animal models do not exist for every human disease, the animal models available to us today are still of great importance for medical research. Animal models allow us to comprehend the molecular and biochemical basis of diseases, and possibly find new drugs and forms of therapy, both medical and surgical. Different animal models have been and may be used. Because of their easy availability, smaller animals such as rodents are often preferred as models. Mice (Mus musculus) offer many advantages. They are similar to humans in a biological and genetic manner, so that much, but not all, of the knowledge gained from studies in mice may be applied to humans. The genome of the mouse is similar to the human genome, with regard to the size and number of genes. Mice have a very high reproduction rate, a short life span and mature quickly. This makes it possible to easily follow the effects of changed genes over many generations. At the present time, mice have become the most important and common animal models for human diseases. For many years the mouse genome has been closely investigated, and many mutations, which have either spontaneously developed in a population or were induced through outer influences (for example chemical mutagenesis) have been demonstrated. Many international co-operations work on methods of describing the function of each single genome with different strategies. Rats (Rattus norvegicus) are also widely used in research, as they are particularly suitable for physiological, pharmacological and behavioral research. They have also contributed greatly to research involving surgical techniques and the study of many teratogens. …