Another Med question..sorry!?

Question

Can you explain the importance of studying other animals to help understand human anatomy and physiology?

Answer 1

Animals are a lot like humans in a lot of ways. Animals are a lot easier to study because you can actually see the lungs and other body parts. where as in humans it might be a little more hard to get your hands on a human set of lungs. Animals are made the same way that humans are.

Answer 2

In the past, people were used as test subjects for experiments, sometimes unknowingly or involuntarily. Due to the concern of the treatment of subjects, especially in more physically involved experiments, these have become banned or regulated by strict federal, state, and also academic rules and regulations.  

The advantages of studying animals to better understand human anatomy/physiology include:

-Some animals share similar structures like the brain, organs, etc or similar body systems-nervous system

-Animals used for laboratory experiments are bred specifically for academic and scientific experiments. These animals are bred in ideal, healthy environments to avoid unnecessary or irrelevant factors-primarily illnesses and behaviors that could influence the results. This is very important considering the large amount of money needed to fund it.

-Comparing similarities and differences could provide more information

-When studying anatomy and physiology in high school and college/university, using humans as test subjects generally are not permitted with certain exceptions (some types of psychological experiments). In order to learn the basics, terms, any and every aspect of biology, anatomy, etc lab activities are beneficial in putting the material to memory but also more fully understanding concepts.

-Studying similarities & differences can also help us learn any evolutionary development of both animals and humans and how one may have impacted the survival of the other

My professor of Neuroscience at Temple University is a contributer to medical research and pharmaceutical companies who manufacture medications. The lab uses purebred white rabbits for testing and measuring cognitive thinking and behavior and the influence of certain chemicals on the brain and/or body.

I hope this has helped answer your question!  :)

Answer 3

Human cadavers are not easy to come by. For beginning medical students (in undergrad, for example) it is easier to use other animals. For instance, you might dissect a cat to learn muscles and blood vessels, but on a cat the heart would be quite small. So you would use a sheep's heart or similar size heart in order to learn.