LABORATORY ANIMAL
SCIENCE
2023-2024
FARMACEUTISCH EN BIOLOGISCHE LABORATORIUM TECHNOLOGIEN
,Lowie Boels Laboratory animal science
1. General introduction
1.1. Intro
• BCLAS = belgian council of laboratory animal science
• FELASA = federation of European laboratory animal science associations
• Why?
o Improve the quality of the research performed on or with animals
o Improve the welfare of the animals used in research
o It beholds the knowledge of:
▪ Housing and Nutrition
▪ Quality control of microbes and Genetic knowledge
▪ Anastasia and painless methods
▪ Reliability and reproduction
1.2. History
The use of animals has been documented / studied since the 1600s but the use of animals
without documentation has bene going on since the ancient greeks
400 BC : greek philosophers (Aristotle) ➔ first experiments on living animals
200: Galenus (physician) ➔ dissection of pigs, dogs, goats
12Th century : an Arabic physician ➔ practice dissection on animals to use these techniques
on humans in surgical procedures
1514 -1564: Vesalius (researcher from Leuven) (Aulas named after him) ➔ conformation of
the studie of Galenus
17th century: William Harvey ➔ discovered the accurate description of the blood circulation
and the function of the heart
They thought that animals had no painreceptors ➔ no anestetics were used
18th century: Alvert von Haller ➔ showed that animals do feel pain and are sensitive like
humans: PROPOSAL: replace higher animals with lower animals
1859: Darwin ➔ origin of species ➔ gave the similarities between humans and animals
2nd half of 19th century: anastetics were found and the animal use became larger
1976: Cruelty to animals act was voted in engand and France
1884: Koch and Pasteur ➔ pathogenicity of micro-organisms
Production of vaccins and antibiotics
19th century: resistance against use of non anestezed animals in France and England
After WOI: industrial development and new research ➔ animal use grow langer
20th century: more animals used and more species ➔ effect was increased resistace
21st century: animals being well treated as part of the laboratory animal science
Education and training + regulations
1
,Lowie Boels Laboratory animal science
1.3. Current use of animals
• Animals were used a lot and now its beginning to slow down
Rise bcs of upcomming
biotechnologie ➔ trangenesis
Rise bcs of Guinee pigs
1. Types of animals that are used
• Rodents like mice, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs ➔ most used
• Rabis fish and birds ➔ 2nd most used
• Dogs, cats, reptiles ➔ almost never used but they were used
• Monkeys ➔ 0.01% of all the experiments use monkeys
2. Model organisms
• Mus musculus = mouse
o Small mammas
o Commonly bred for lab usage
o Most common as model for:
▪ Genetics and psychiology
▪ Medicine and other scientific disciplines
o High homology with humans
o Easy to handle with a hight reproduction rate
• Fish
o Zebbra fish = Danio rerio
▪ Tropical, fresh water fish
▪ Live around 2-3 years
▪ Most common as model for:
• Scientific research
• Genetics
▪ Very simple DNA structure and easily to reproduce
▪ Do not have large demands regarding their environment
▪ Organogenesis is complete after 1 day
▪ Non pigment parts of the fish ➔ easy to observe the brain, heart, blood
circulation bcs the skin is seetrough
o Killi fish = nothobrachius furzeri
▪ Fresh water fish
▪ Studies the environment and aging bcs these fish have an extremely short
lifespan
2
, Lowie Boels Laboratory animal science
• Xenopus laevis
o Is an amphibian that is allotetraploid =4 copies of each chromosome
o Lives on land and in fresh water
o 30 years old and can lay up to 1000 eggs
o Most common as model for:
▪ High degree of conservation
▪ Cellulair and moleculair mechanisms
▪ Geneticly very similar ro the humans
• Drospophila melanogaster = fruit fly
o Studies on expression of products of specific genes
o Low low low cost of maintaining these animals and easy to maintain
o A lot of mutans are easily created
• C. elegans
o = free living nematode = non parasitic
o Minimal nutrition needed
o Self-fertilisation
3. Changes over time in laboratory animal use
Positive impact Negative impact
Usage of higher animals was decreased bcs Bcs of recent development in research
of ethical reasons disciplines in trangenesis there is an increase
Currently we try to reduce the use of animals in the use of animals
/ standardisation per animal These animals have been genetically
This means that each animal has a category manipulated/altered
in what research it may be used: REACH = registration, evaluation and
→ Mice and rats➔ cancer, genetic, autoriation of chemicals
behavoir and toxicology studies → has noticed a large increase in animal use
→ Rabbits ➔ lipd research, drug test
chemotherapy research REACH requires manufactures and
→ Cats ➔ neurological downstream users of chemical compains to
→ Dogs ➔ cardiovasculair, brain, spinal register the possible effects on human health
cord of the environment
→ Monkeys ➔ brain and diabetes, aids ,
liver and heart and MS + drug
addiction
→ Pigs ➔ burns, skin and organ
transplats
→ Sheep ➔ kidney and lung research +
arthritis
→ Guinea pigs ➔ toxical studies,
vaccine testing
→ Fish ➔ pollution studies
The newest technique is by using inbred
strains. After 20 times reproducing with
brother and sister you will get an inbred
strain. These strains are preferred to use bcs
of the genetic resemblance and bcs there will
be less variation. This means we do not need
as much animals al before to test o.
3
SCIENCE
2023-2024
FARMACEUTISCH EN BIOLOGISCHE LABORATORIUM TECHNOLOGIEN
,Lowie Boels Laboratory animal science
1. General introduction
1.1. Intro
• BCLAS = belgian council of laboratory animal science
• FELASA = federation of European laboratory animal science associations
• Why?
o Improve the quality of the research performed on or with animals
o Improve the welfare of the animals used in research
o It beholds the knowledge of:
▪ Housing and Nutrition
▪ Quality control of microbes and Genetic knowledge
▪ Anastasia and painless methods
▪ Reliability and reproduction
1.2. History
The use of animals has been documented / studied since the 1600s but the use of animals
without documentation has bene going on since the ancient greeks
400 BC : greek philosophers (Aristotle) ➔ first experiments on living animals
200: Galenus (physician) ➔ dissection of pigs, dogs, goats
12Th century : an Arabic physician ➔ practice dissection on animals to use these techniques
on humans in surgical procedures
1514 -1564: Vesalius (researcher from Leuven) (Aulas named after him) ➔ conformation of
the studie of Galenus
17th century: William Harvey ➔ discovered the accurate description of the blood circulation
and the function of the heart
They thought that animals had no painreceptors ➔ no anestetics were used
18th century: Alvert von Haller ➔ showed that animals do feel pain and are sensitive like
humans: PROPOSAL: replace higher animals with lower animals
1859: Darwin ➔ origin of species ➔ gave the similarities between humans and animals
2nd half of 19th century: anastetics were found and the animal use became larger
1976: Cruelty to animals act was voted in engand and France
1884: Koch and Pasteur ➔ pathogenicity of micro-organisms
Production of vaccins and antibiotics
19th century: resistance against use of non anestezed animals in France and England
After WOI: industrial development and new research ➔ animal use grow langer
20th century: more animals used and more species ➔ effect was increased resistace
21st century: animals being well treated as part of the laboratory animal science
Education and training + regulations
1
,Lowie Boels Laboratory animal science
1.3. Current use of animals
• Animals were used a lot and now its beginning to slow down
Rise bcs of upcomming
biotechnologie ➔ trangenesis
Rise bcs of Guinee pigs
1. Types of animals that are used
• Rodents like mice, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs ➔ most used
• Rabis fish and birds ➔ 2nd most used
• Dogs, cats, reptiles ➔ almost never used but they were used
• Monkeys ➔ 0.01% of all the experiments use monkeys
2. Model organisms
• Mus musculus = mouse
o Small mammas
o Commonly bred for lab usage
o Most common as model for:
▪ Genetics and psychiology
▪ Medicine and other scientific disciplines
o High homology with humans
o Easy to handle with a hight reproduction rate
• Fish
o Zebbra fish = Danio rerio
▪ Tropical, fresh water fish
▪ Live around 2-3 years
▪ Most common as model for:
• Scientific research
• Genetics
▪ Very simple DNA structure and easily to reproduce
▪ Do not have large demands regarding their environment
▪ Organogenesis is complete after 1 day
▪ Non pigment parts of the fish ➔ easy to observe the brain, heart, blood
circulation bcs the skin is seetrough
o Killi fish = nothobrachius furzeri
▪ Fresh water fish
▪ Studies the environment and aging bcs these fish have an extremely short
lifespan
2
, Lowie Boels Laboratory animal science
• Xenopus laevis
o Is an amphibian that is allotetraploid =4 copies of each chromosome
o Lives on land and in fresh water
o 30 years old and can lay up to 1000 eggs
o Most common as model for:
▪ High degree of conservation
▪ Cellulair and moleculair mechanisms
▪ Geneticly very similar ro the humans
• Drospophila melanogaster = fruit fly
o Studies on expression of products of specific genes
o Low low low cost of maintaining these animals and easy to maintain
o A lot of mutans are easily created
• C. elegans
o = free living nematode = non parasitic
o Minimal nutrition needed
o Self-fertilisation
3. Changes over time in laboratory animal use
Positive impact Negative impact
Usage of higher animals was decreased bcs Bcs of recent development in research
of ethical reasons disciplines in trangenesis there is an increase
Currently we try to reduce the use of animals in the use of animals
/ standardisation per animal These animals have been genetically
This means that each animal has a category manipulated/altered
in what research it may be used: REACH = registration, evaluation and
→ Mice and rats➔ cancer, genetic, autoriation of chemicals
behavoir and toxicology studies → has noticed a large increase in animal use
→ Rabbits ➔ lipd research, drug test
chemotherapy research REACH requires manufactures and
→ Cats ➔ neurological downstream users of chemical compains to
→ Dogs ➔ cardiovasculair, brain, spinal register the possible effects on human health
cord of the environment
→ Monkeys ➔ brain and diabetes, aids ,
liver and heart and MS + drug
addiction
→ Pigs ➔ burns, skin and organ
transplats
→ Sheep ➔ kidney and lung research +
arthritis
→ Guinea pigs ➔ toxical studies,
vaccine testing
→ Fish ➔ pollution studies
The newest technique is by using inbred
strains. After 20 times reproducing with
brother and sister you will get an inbred
strain. These strains are preferred to use bcs
of the genetic resemblance and bcs there will
be less variation. This means we do not need
as much animals al before to test o.
3
