Alternative Methods

The creator of the term „alternatives“ is famous physiologist David Smyth, author of the book Alternative to Animal Experiments (1978). This term has been used to describe any change in conventional scientific procedures that will lead to replacement of animals in the experiment, reduction in the number of animals used, or improvement of techniques to reduce animal pain and suffering. Therefore, Smyth’s term “alternative” is synonymous with the “3R principle” of Russell and Burch (the book “The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique”; 1959), the term most commonly used today…