Animals for research : principles of breeding and management / edited by W. Lane-Petter.

Date:
1963
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Animals for research : principles of breeding and management / edited by W. Lane-Petter. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    13/560 page VII
    Preface Laboratory animal science is a comparatively new subject. There are some who will protest that its designation is premature and that it has not yet emerged from an ill-favoured technology. Certainly the literature in this field is still so modest that the student has some possibility of making himself familiar with the greater part of it. But this primitive stage is not destined to last; indeed, the end of it is already in sight, and the present book is con¬ tributing towards that end. A few other compendiums or comprehensive reference books on laboratory animals have been published, and have received their measure of acclaim. It was thought, however, that there was a need for a book that concentrated on the species most commonly used, and that dealt with them more profoundly than has elsewhere been customary. This book is written mainly for users of such animals, but also for those who have charge of what have been called user-breeder colonies. Those who want information about the more out of the way species must seek elsewhere, paying the penalty for being in the minority; here only the majority will be served. More than that, special emphasis in this book has been given to mice and rats, whose numerical preponderance over all other vertebrate species, and whose pre-eminent usefulness in the labor¬ atory, place them almost in a separate category. Of all experimental animals they begin to approach the ideal of an exact reagent or an accurately definable and reproducible system, and it is for that reason that nearly half this book is concerned with them. Even the general chapters have mice and rats chiefly in mind. No apology is offered for this lop-sidedness, for it is deliberate, and it is hoped that it will meet the needs of many research workers. There are, however, chapters specifically dealing with the second echelon of animals, whose use is less numerous or ubiquitous but still common. The treatment is not so profound as in the case of mice and rats, but it is nowhere superficial. The editor is grateful to all those who have contributed chapters to this book, and counts himself as greatly privileged to have had their collaboration. Their knowledge, and in so many cases their original approach, have made the construction of the book an exciting as well as an exacting labour. Thanks are due also to the many colleagues who have helped with criticism and sugges¬ tion, and in more tedious ways, such as proof reading. All of us must hope that this book will help towards better research, in so far as research relies on better managed animals used in the most profitable ways. An experimental animal—and this applies above all to highly defined strains and types of mice
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