ABSTRACT
Just as formulations, vehicles and routes are critical, often overlooked determinants in the design and outcome of acute toxicity studies, so the fundamental cornerstone for all such predictive testing, animal models, are generally overlooked. Throughout this book the authors have attempted to present some of the test-specific considerations behind selection and/or rejection of particular types of animals as models for specific tests. Indeed, we have attempted to present alternatives to animals, where currently available, and to overview in an objective manner the status of alternatives in all cases. The initial chapter of this volume presented the basic criteria by which we would present and appraise alternative models, and in the final chapter we will explore the issues limiting alternatives (and how they may be over come) in some detail.
