The final chapter discusses factors governing the progress toward humane treatment of experimental animals and deals with personality and sociological factors as well as organizations which can assist in the educational process. In Part One, Russell and Burch introduce the reader to the concepts of distress and consciousness. While the information provided in this chapter is sufficient to make the authors' point concerning animal distress, much of it is clearly outdated. Based largely upon animal experimentation, contemporary scientists better appreciate the neurophysiological basis of pain perception. In addition, this knowledge has led to the development of entirely new classes of analgesics based on ligand-receptor interactions.
Replacement is the substitution of conscious, living, higher animals with insentient material.
Here, metazoan endoparasites, microorganisms, plants and non-living physical and chemical systems are the subject of investigation. The decision to use replacement techniques depends on careful consideration of both the specific aims of the study and the nature of the model to be used. Russell and Burch aptly demonstrate the value of correlation between the system employed and the intended beneficiary or target system. Excellent examples are given in the use of tissue culture techniques for propagation of viruses and chemical methods for evaluating antibiotic sensitivity of microorganisms. A detailed discussion of the usefulness and limitation of in vitro assays in the testing of toxic substances is a testimony to the insightful thinking of these authors.