The precise correlation between the age of laboratory rats and humans is still a subject of debate. A number of researchers have tried to detect these correlations in various ways but failed to successfully provide any proper association. Like human beings, the Wistar rats go through the ontogenetic developmental stages «Prenatal → Birth → Infancy → Childhood → Adolescence → Adulthood → Death». Therefore, the stages of ontogenesis, from post-natal up to post-senescence can be used as surrogate markers to relate the ages of rats with those of human beings. The aim of this review was to compare and relate rat and human ages at different phases of their ontogenetic development. Rats grow rapidly during their childhood and both sexes become sexually mature 50-60 days after birth but attain social maturity 5-6 months later. It was also observed that, in adulthood, every day of the animal is approximately equivalent to 34.8 human days, which means one rat’s month can be likened to three human years. The differences herein signify the variations in animals’ anatomy, physiology, and ontogenetic developmental processes. This review would solve the lingering issues of rats’ human age correlation and allow for making reasonable conclusions in researches that involve humans and experimental animals.
Key words: Human age, laboratory rat, ontogenesis, physiology, puberty, rat age.
|
