Rabbits as a biological model for experimental studies (review of literature)

The Aim of the Research. To analyse and summarize the data of modern literature on the use of rabbits for laboratory experimental studies and substantiate the prospects for their further use.Materials and Methods. The analytical methods such as collection of scientific information on the problem, analysis of literature data from PubMed libraries as well as scientific generalization of the results obtained were used in the work.Results and Conclusions. The principles of the prospects for the further use of rabbits for laboratory experimental studies have been substantiated. Thanks to certain scientific advances, ethical alternative scientific testing methods without the involvement of living beings have already been developed and implemented. Exactly these methods help to get more reliable results. If in some scientific research rabbits are no longer used, then in other directions on the contrary, every year the need to use these mammals for experimental studies increases. And there is a well-reasoned explanation for this. Currently, there is no alternative to using rabbits for the production of antibodies, recombinant proteins. Testing in laboratory animals is the best method for detecting phenomena such as cancer and birth defects. Genetically modified rabbits are a new perspective for scientific research. With the development of new technologies, editing the genome, especially CRISPR / Cas9 and its modifications, has made it possible with high efficiency to obtain a much larger number of transgenic animals with precisely specified genetic modifications for solving a wide variety of problems. The use of animals in experiments is critically important for some areas of scientific research because the complexity of the structure of an organism cannot be duplicated in cell culture or using computer models.Key Words: rabbits, maintenance, testing on animals, human health.