ABSTRACT
The choice of the most appropriate animal to predict the toxic effects of chemicals in humans is a critical question to all branches of biological and biochemical research. In the past 100 years probably every animal on earth has been considered as possibly predictive of the human response to chemical injury. This chapter considers the use of large farm animals as models for the response of humans to the inhalation toxicity of chemicals. Most of the common laboratory animal species provide useful information in predicting the effects of inhaled toxicants and the treatment of their toxic effects in humans. Small animals, such as rats, mice, and guinea pigs, offer the advantage of larger numbers in experimental groups, thus allowing a better prediction of the variation of biological response. Small animals, however, do not easily allow the investigation of multiple pathophysiological changes without using multiple groups. Moreover the therapeutic or toxicological investigations
often require the design and construction of specialized equipment to account for the small size of the experimental subject. Some diffi culties are involved in housing and handling larger animals, but where these can be overcome, the use of larger animals allows the investigation of multiple physiological changes resulting from toxic insult and the use of conventional equipment designed for clinical use in humans.
