What is the purpose of using animal models in toxicology?

• A. To study toxic effects, mechanisms, and dose-response in a controlled system to inform human risk while addressing ethical and practical constraints.
• B. To replace clinical trials entirely.
• C. To study only lethal doses in humans.
• D. To perfectly replicate human responses with no uncertainties.

Answer: (A)

Studying toxic effects in animals provides a whole-organism, controlled system to observe not only what harms occur, but how those harms develop across different doses and time, and through what biological mechanisms. This information helps estimate risks to humans by linking exposure levels to potential adverse outcomes, while also addressing ethical and practical limits that prevent early testing in people. Animal models also allow researchers to explore pharmacokinetics and dose–response in a living system, which informs safe exposure levels and helps identify targets and pathways affected by a chemical.

These models are not meant to replace human testing entirely, nor do they only focus on lethal doses, and they do not perfectly replicate human responses—there are species differences and uncertainties in extrapolating to people.