Rabbits in Biomedical Research

Rabbits in Biomedical
Research
Josephine Profy
Hannah Casadonti
Chelsea Brenner
Contributions to Science
• Rabbits are ideal for researching chemo/immunotherapy to treat
cancers.
• Rabbits are useful in finding ways to lower cholesterol.
• When injected with a toxin found in electric eels, rabbits led
researchers to identify an immune-disease that attacks muscle
receptors.
•
More than 10,000 visually impaired individuals have benefited
from trials on rabbits
Beneficial Characteristics
• For all of the previously mentioned uses of rabbits in the
medical research field, rabbits possess certain traits
specifically beneficial to testing each ailment.
• Some include:
-Ability to produce tumors
-Similar vascular deposits to humans
-Similar inner-ear anatomy
-No tear ducts
-Distinct change with age
Benefits to the Animal
• Due to the numerous trials for different treatments
and medicines, innovations in animal medicine have
been made. Now, all of the drugs that were proven to
work on the rabbits can be used on the rabbits as well
as humans.