Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Report on first certificate course on applied physiology of pain, analgesia, anesthesia, and euthanasia for laboratory animals held in Sri Lanka.
- Journal:
- Advances in physiology education
- Year:
- 2018
- Authors:
- Gunatilake, Mangala
- Affiliation:
- Department of Physiology
Plain-English summary
A recent course in Sri Lanka focused on how to manage pain and provide anesthesia for laboratory animals, similar to how we care for pain in humans. The program aimed to teach researchers about the basics of pain, how to reduce it during experiments, and the proper use of anesthesia and euthanasia (putting an animal to sleep to relieve suffering). This was the first time such a course was held in the country, and it included practical demonstrations, including the use of an anesthesia machine, which had not been available in local animal facilities before. The course was a significant step forward in improving animal welfare in research settings.
Abstract
Similar to human beings, pain is an unpleasant sensation experienced by animals as well. There is no exception when the animals are subjected to experimental procedures. Our duty as researchers/scientists is to prevent or minimize the pain in animals so as to lessen their suffering and distress during experimental procedures. The basics of the physiology of pain and pain perception, analgesia, anesthesia, and euthanasia of laboratory animals were included to complete the program, before the practical part was attempted and before advanced topics, such as comparison of anesthetic combinations, were discussed. Therefore, this course was organized in Sri Lanka for the first time in collaboration with the Comparative Biology Centre of Newcastle University, UK. During this course, we were able to demonstrate how an anesthesia machine could be used in laboratory animal anesthesia for the first time in the country. None of the animal houses in the country were equipped with an anesthesia machine at the time of conducting the course.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29616566/