Rodents have been employed in biomedical experimentation from the 1650s. Rodent studies up to the early 19th century were mainly physiological or toxicological. The first rodent behavioral study was carried out in 1822, a purely observational study, while quantitative rodent behavioral testing began in the late 19th century. Currently, rodents are commonly used in animal testing for physiological, pathological and behavioral scientific studies, particularly mice and rats, but also guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils and others. Mice are the most commonly used vertebrate species, due to their availability, size, low cost, ease of handling, and fast reproduction rate.
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Animal testing on rodents in the context of Strain (biology)
In biology, a strain is a genetic variant, a subtype or a culture within a biological species. Strains are often seen as inherently artificial concepts, characterized by a specific intent for genetic isolation. This is most easily observed in microbiology where strains are derived from a single cell colony and are typically quarantined by the physical constraints of a Petri dish. Strains are also commonly referred to within virology, botany, and with rodents used in experimental studies.
Animal testing on rodents in the context of Laboratory rat
Laboratory rats or lab rats are strains of the rat subspecies Rattus norvegicus domestica (Domestic Norwegian rat) which are bred and kept for scientific research. While less commonly used for research than laboratory mice, rats have served as an important animal model for research in psychology and biomedical science, and "lab rat" is commonly used as an idiom for a test subject.
Animal testing on rodents in the context of Late-life mortality deceleration
In gerontology, late-life mortality deceleration is the disputed theory that hazard rate increases at a decreasing rate in late life rather than increasing exponentially as in the Gompertz law.
Late-life mortality deceleration is a well-established phenomenon in insects, which often spend much of their lives in a constant hazard rate region, but it is much more controversial in mammals. Rodent studies have found varying conclusions, with some finding short-term periods of mortality deceleration in mice, others not finding such. Baboon studies show no mortality deceleration.