Experiments on animals are the key to Surgical Clinical Research; its objective is to
solve the unsolved problems in the clinical area. This chapter covers the ethical principles and
investigator responsibilities. The principal environmental conditions, such as housing, husbandry
and nutrition, are also described. Current studies indicate that rats and mice value opportunities to
take cover, build nests, explore, gain social contact, and exercise some control over their social
milieu; the inability to satisfy these needs is physically and psychologically detrimental, leading
to impaired brain development and behavioral anomalies.
