ABSTRACT
A variety of experimental models have been employed to study the effects of toxicants on membrane function; they range from the intact animal to artificial membranes. The relatively simple control over experimental variables in vitro, the desire to minimize use of live animals in toxicologic testing and research, and factors of cost and con venience, however, have encouraged an increasing reliance on in-vitro preparations. Moreover, the complexity of the whole animal may defeat attempts to study details of biologic mechanisms, frequently leaving little alternative to reliance on in-vitro mod els. On the other hand, in-vitro preparations demonstrate what toxicants can affect, not necessarily what they do affect in the more complex setting of an intact animal.
