About the book

Animal models are used to understand physiological, biochemical, and pathological mechanisms of cells, tissues, organs, and systems, to elucidate inter-system relations, to develop new diagnostic methods for diseases or functional disorders, and to develop new strategies for their treatment. When considering the ethical and legal constraints, the need to use animal models maintains its importance from past to present. The success of the research depends on the suitability of the chosen model. For example, while single-celled organisms such as yeast are a convenient model for the study of basic eukaryotic cell functions such as cell cycle regulation, vesicular transport, protein folding, and DNA repair, simple invertebrates such as Caenorhabditis elegans or Drosophila are regarded as good models in studies examining the coordinated functions of genes related to signal transmission or protein-protein interactions. Simple vertebrates (zebrafish, frogs, etc.) or mammals (rat, mouse, rabbit, guinea pig, etc.) are used to establish human disease models or to explain their effects at the organism level. In addition, the use of experimental animals is quite common in experimental medicine research, especially in pharmaceutical developments and molecular pathway studies.

This book aims to discuss current developments such as the definition of model animals, the purposes of using model animals and the diseases in which they are used, the selection of appropriate models and subjects, and the technological methods used in the experimental model.