1Department of Physiology, S.S. Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Davangere, 577 005, Karnataka, India.
2Department of Forensic Medicine, S.S. Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Davangere, 577 005, Karnataka, India.
3Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, College of Dental Sciences, Davangere, 577 004, Karnataka, India.
This study reveals the attitudes of medical students towards animal and human experiments. About 100 medical students [44 males and 56 females] who have performed animal and human experiments were subjected to a questionnaire method. The questionnaire consisted of, in part, statements for which the students responded using a five point Likert type scale. Several open ended questions pointing towards ethical issues in experimentation were also given to students and they were asked to list advantages and disadvantages of animal and human experiments. About 87% of the students preferred human experiments [P<0.05]. This preference was related more to issue of more informative and easy to perform human experiments rather than enjoyability and overall understanding of the experiments. A good number of students identified difficulties and ethical issues related to animal experiments. Present study shows that, medical students prefer introduction of large number of human experiments, though they realize the importance and value of animal experiments.
Attitudes, Medical students, Animal experiments
