A structured course in laboratory animal science for postgraduates: Is it a necessity?

Abstract

The utilization of AE in biomedical research demands a certain level of knowledge and manual dexterity in the scientists conducting the research. There is a wide diversity in the postgraduate curricula with respect to animal experimental knowledge and skills in the different medical colleges of India. Despite several postgraduate institutes in the country having a well‑defined curriculum for AE, the “actual” curriculum followed is a trace of what is actually defined. Hence, the required level of expertise is often not obtained by the students. Moreover, the problems are compounded by the difficulty in attaining animals and strict regulations limiting their use.[1] As such, several attempts have been made to eliminate animals from the laboratory scene. However, they shall always remain an integral part of medical research for providing useful biological information as the intact animal usually provides a suitable model to study the complex interactive processes in the human body, which can be extrapolated and translated to human advantage.

Keywords: Correspondence