Table 3 Animal models
Animal | Size | Advantages | Limitations | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mouse | very small | low cost, amenability, standardized variants | post-operative management, low translability | chemically- and genetically-induced OA |
Guinea pig | very small | low costs, similarity with human OA | sedentary behaviour, low translability | spontaneous and chemically-induced OA |
Rat | small | low cost, amenability | post-operative management | surgically- and chemically-induced OA |
Rabbit | small | amenability | self-regeneration, differences with human anatomy, post-operative management | surgically- and chemically-induced OA |
Dog | medium/large | radiologic evaluation | high costs, perception | spontaneous and surgically-induced OA |
Sheep/goat | large | amenability, radiologic evaluation, large joints | high costs, physiology | meniscectomy |
Horse | large | radiologic evaluation | high costs, anatomy, perception | spontaneous OA and overuse |