Ethics of Research involving animals
Glossary A-G
Absolutism: The acceptance of or belief in absolute principles in political, philosophical, ethical, or theological matters.
Ascites: The accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity causing swelling.
Adjuvant: A substance which enhances the body’s immune response to an antigen.
Adrenal cortex: Part of adrenal gland which is involved in making steroid hormones such as cortisol.
Alternatives: An alternative is likely to mean an alternative method that does not involve using an animal. This is the principle encompassed by UK and EU laws.
Amino acid: A molecule which serves as the building block of proteins. Proteins have different characteristics as determined by the sequence of amino acids. Genes specify this sequence.
Anaesthesia: Artificially induced loss of consciousness or sensation.
Analgesia: The absence or relief of pain.
Analgesic: A pain relieving medicine.
Anaphylaxis: An extreme and often life-threatening immune reaction to an antigen, such as a bee-sting, owing to hypersensitivity following an earlier exposure.
Antibody: A class of proteins made by the immune system which react with and neutralise specific foreign antigens (any substance recognised by the immune system as ‘non-self’).
Antigen: A foreign substance or cell that triggers an immune response. Its capacity to produce an immune response is referred to as its antigenicity.
Assay: the determination of the content or concentration of a substance.
Ataxia: An inability to coordinate muscular movements.
Autoimmune disorder: A malfunction of the immune system in which it responds against substances and cells naturally present in the body (of animals or humans).
Base pair: A pair of complementary components (called bases) in the two opposing strands of DNA.
Basic research: Research with the primary purpose of advancing scientific knowledge about the way animals behave, develop, or function. Also known as ‘blue-sky’ or ‘curiosity-driven’ research.
Bioavailability: The degree or rate at which a drug or other substance is absorbed and becomes available at its site of action in the body after administration.
Biopharmaceutical: Medicinal drugs produced by biotechnology.
Blastocyst: A very early stage embryo.
Carcinogenicity: Capacity of a substance to cause cancer.
Cell: The structural and functional unit of which organisms
consist.
Cell line: A population of cellsthat can proliferate indefinitely in a culture dish.
Cell culture: Cells maintained in a culture dish.
Cetaceans: Order of marine mammal which comprises whales
and dolphins.
Chimera: An organism made up of cells derived from two genetically distinct organisms.
Chromosome: A large DNA molecule and its associated proteins in the nucleus of a cell. Genes are specific sequences within the DNA molecule.
Circadian: Occurring or recurring about once per day.
Cloning: Gene cloning is the process of amplifying (making further copies of) a single gene sequence. Animal cloning is the process of producing virtually genetically identical animals (clones).
Consequentialism: A philosophical approach by which the moral value of individual human actions, or rules for such actions, is determined primarily by their outcome.
Cortical: Of or relating to the cerebral cortex.
Cortisol: Hormone produced by adrenal cortex, which is often used to assess the degree of stress in an animal.
Cytotoxicity: Toxicity to cells.
Deontology: Philosophical theory in which certain actions are right or wrong independent of their outcome. Instead, their rightness or wrongness is defined by a formal system, which defines certain actions as intrinsically right or wrong.
Disease phenotype: The observable characteristics of a disease.
DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid; genes are specific regions within the DNA molecules that control the inherited characteristics of an organism.
cDNA (Complementary DNA): single-stranded DNA produced from messanger RNA sequences, which means that it contains only the sequences that code for proteins.
Drugs: Medicinal substances.
Efficacy: The ability to produce a particular desired effect.
Embryo: An early stage of animal or plant development.
Endocrine system: A system of glands in the body and the secreted hormones that they produce.
Endogenous opioid: Morphine-like substance which is made naturally within the body.
Endpoint: The stage in an experiment or test where the procedure is terminated. Where experiments increase suffering, animals should be killed as early as possible. This is described as operating a ‘humane endpoint’.
Etiology: The study of the causes of disease.
Euthanasia: Literally: ‘good death’. The act of killing a human or other animal in as painless a way as possible.
Experiment: Part of a methodological research project with the aim of answering a particular theoretical question.
Fecundity: Fertility, the capacity for producing offspring.
Fibroblasts: A common cell type found in vertebrate animals. They are commonly used in experiments, as they proliferate freely in culture.
Gene: A region of DNA that controls an inherited characteristic of an organism.
Gene expression: The process by which information contained in a gene is transcribed to produce functional RNA molecules, which are then translated into proteins. Only a subset of an organism's genes are expressed in any one cell type.
Genotoxicity: Damage to DNA, which may promote the development of cancer or, if it involves the gametes, cause heritable mutations.
Genetics: The inheritance of variation.
Genetic modification: The modification of an organism’s hereditary material using scientific techniques, (also known as genetic engineering).
Genetic screen: A search through a large number of intentionally created mutant organisms for a particular observable characteristic of scientific relevance.
Genome: The total genetic complement of a cell, individual, or species, which is contained in its DNA.
Genomics: The science of studying the DNA sequence and properties of entire genomes (the sequencing of the DNA of the entire human genome is an example).
Genotype: The entire genetic constitution of an individual, as distinguished from their observable characteristics (which are referred to as their phenotype).
Germline: The gametes (eggs or sperm) and the
cells that give rise to the gametes, which transmit genetic material from one generation to the next.
Great apes: An order of primates consisting of gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans.