ABSTRACT
The term diabetes animal model is frequently used when experiments with diabetic animals are performed, with their meaning extrapolated to human diabetes. A “model” does not mean a reproduction of human diabetes on an animal, and it does not represent the complete range of aberrations or complications observed in human diabetes either. The potential of an animal model lies in the chance to explore specic variables (morphologic, biochemical, immunologic, metabolic) or therapeutic measures (drugs, transplants) that are unable to be performed on humans. The conclusions should be conned to the pathogenesis of a particular disorder or its correction because there is no total equivalence to the human disease.1
