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SCHWINDAMAN, CONNOR, MCPHERSON, PIERCE, NORMAN, CASS, PARKER & HARMISON 1279 
recorded. Failure to follow the above criteria 
will usually lead to the unnecessary loss of ex- 
perimental preparations as well as the use of 
sick animals mistakenly assumed to be healthy. 
How many of us are concerned enough to 
consider reasonable clinical evaluation of an 
animal before using it for study? How many of 
us have studied animals that were several days 
post-operative without a body temperature 
recording or at least a stethoscopic examina- 
tion? How many of us have used the presence of 
a heart beat or the animal's ability to wag its 
tail as an indicator of recovery. How many of 
us have been concerned about the hemogram of 
a dog, sheep or calf each time that one has been 
used in an experiment? How many animals are 
hyperthermic from infection, or dehydrated 
from diarrhea, or anemic from parasitism while 
involved in study? Would it not be appropriate 
to include such observations when results are 
considered? 
What can we do to upgrade the use of animals 
without affecting the laboratory environment as 
we know it today or without the necessity of 
further enforcement of regulations for animal 
welfare? First, let us examine our present lab- 
oratory organization and determine whether 
we have the practice of veterinary medicine at 
a level to provide maximum treatment and sup- 
port of all animals involved in our research pro- 
gram. The availability of adequate veterinary 
support does not mean that all problems will 
be solved, especially if the investigator fails 
to recognize it as a necessary assist. Also, the 
veterinarian has to become involved in an area 
of animal research that possibly does not stimu- 
late his interest. The veterinarian must assist 
in all phases of animal experimentation when- 
ever animal welfare is threatened. He must 
become much more involved than monitoring 
anesthesia if other deficiencies exist. 
Every research institution that includes 
laboratory animal surgery as part of its pro- 
gram should continue developing means to re- 
view all animal experimentation within its 
program. The institutional committee recom- 
mended by law should have jurisdiction over all 
laboratory protocols involving animals. This not 
only limits questionable laboratory practices but 
will stimulate the development of improved ex- 
perimental techniques within the organization. 
Also, we should look toward the editorial 
committees of scientific journals for help in ap- 
proving and enforcing criteria on monitoring of 
certain laboratory animal preparations used 
in research that result in the publication of 
physiological data. Such criteria need not limit 
the use of laboratory animals but would lead 
toward the limitation of unacceptable practices 
which now allow the publication of inaccurate 
data. These criteria would aid in the definition 
of norm.al or otherwise identified animals used 
in certain preparations as identified by the re- 
quired standards. 
Have we all considered introductory courses 
on laboratory animal medicine and surgery 
techniques as a requirement for medical and 
graduate students ? All of those people who will 
be using animals at some future date for re- 
search should have this experience. There are 
several active programs in progress today. We 
do not want to limit such courses to animal care 
personnel. The investigator should have some 
insight into the requirements of laboratory ani- 
mals before he becomes involved in experimen- 
tal protocols. We should stress that all potential 
animal investigators be required to have certain 
basic courses in laboratory animal medicine and 
surgery. 
There are other inadequacies that we could 
continue to mention, but why list them here? 
Where will we get the money? Where will we 
find the time to correct the deficiencies that we 
are all concerned about? We are all aware of the 
continuous developments surrounding the lab- 
oratory. We must realize that these develop- 
ments are not limited to the updating of equip- 
ment or changes in personnel. They include the 
education, acceptance, and practice of constantly 
improving methods of animal experimentation 
and maintenance. 
In conclusion, the acceptance of and the ad- 
vancement of veterinary medicine in the labora- 
tory is not the whole answer. It has to be a 
total collaborative effort on the part of the 
investigator, veterinarian, technician, and an 
involved administration. The development of 
informative techniques to reach the young in- 
vestigator as well as the now more active 
investigator must be pursued as well as the 
