Evaluation of pain and stress levels of animals used in experimental research

This paper represents a contribution to researchers employing "in vivo" mod els in experimental surgery in order to obtain more reliable results in acc ordance with current legislation and Russel's "three R" statement: refineme nt, reduction, and replacement. After general consideration about the defin ition of pain and stress concerning laboratory animals, the authors suggest making an evaluation of the experimental protocol before approval by the l ocal committee to allow assessment in terms of the costs/benefits of experi mental research employing live animals. (C) 2000 Academic Press.