ABT Week 12: Animal Research Regulations, Husbandry, and Experimental Design

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering Australian animal research regulations, the 3Rs, experimental design, husbandry, health monitoring, humane endpoints, and tissue analysis techniques.

National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)

An Australian organisation that provides national guidance on ethical, humane, and responsible animal research.

Australian Code for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes (8th edition, 2013)

A national document that establishes standards and principles for the ethical care and use of research animals, adopted directly into legislation across Australian states and territories.

Replacement

A fundamental 3Rs principle directing researchers to use alternative research methods that do not involve animals wherever possible, such as using cell cultures instead of live mice.

Reduction

A fundamental 3Rs principle directing researchers to use the smallest number of animals necessary to achieve scientifically valid results, such as calculating appropriate sample sizes.

Refinement

A fundamental 3Rs principle requiring researchers to modify procedures and animal care to minimise pain, distress, and suffering while improving well-being through measures like handling, pain relief, and environmental enrichment.

BPH/2J strain

The Blood Pressure High mouse strain selected as a hypertension-associated disease model to investigate the effects of antidiabetic medications.

BPN/3J strain

The mouse strain fed normal chow that serves as the control group in the lecture's antidiabetic research project.

Tirzepatide (TZ)

A modern antidiabetic medication administered as a drug intervention between weeks 12 and 16 of the experimental timeline to investigate heart and kidney benefits.

Experimental protocol

A structured plan describing how a research experiment will be conducted, establishing the procedures, interventions, measurements, and timing required to answer a research question.

Glucose tolerance test (GTT)

An experimental assessment involving glucose administration that measures the blood glucose response over time to assess how effectively glucose is cleared from the blood.

Insulin tolerance test (ITT)

An experimental assessment involving insulin administration that evaluates blood glucose response following injection to assess insulin responsiveness.

Animal husbandry

The care and management of animals, encompassing feeding, breeding, health care, handling, housing, and general management to ensure animal welfare and experimental validity.

Environmental enrichment

Items such as wooden sticks, paper cones, and nesting material provided in cages to give animals opportunities to engage in natural behaviours, reduce stress, and support well-being.

Acidified water

Water provided with free access to laboratory mice specifically to limit microbial growth.

Humane endpoint

A predefined criterion indicating when an animal should be removed from an experiment, treated, or humanely euthanised to prevent unnecessary pain, distress, or suffering.

Experimental endpoint

The planned completion of a procedure or study based on predefined experimental measurements or study timing to address a scientific research objective.

Periodic acid–Schiff (PAS)

A histological stain that highlights carbohydrate-rich tissue components and helps visualise structural changes in kidney tissues.

Masson's trichrome (MT)

A histological staining method used to visualise collagen and tissue fibrosis during organ analysis.

Steatosis

The accumulation of excess fat within liver cells.

Ballooning

Swelling and structural changes in hepatocytes that are associated with cellular injury.

Haematoxylin and eosin (H&E)

A histological stain used to visualise general tissue architecture and cellular morphology in liver sections.

Oil Red O

A histological stain used specifically to stain neutral lipids in tissue analysis.

CD68

A marker commonly used in liver tissue analysis to identify macrophage-associated cells.

BODIPY

A fluorescent staining agent used to examine and visualise lipid accumulation under microscopy.

DAPI

A fluorescent stain used to identify and visualise cell nuclei in microscopy.