Simulation program „Virtual Pathophysiology”
The rat sits apathetically in front of the empty food bowl. Its fur is ruffled and it no longer responds to acoustic stimuli. For seven days, the rat has received no food. It has lost half its body weight. Then, the animal is decapitated in order to weigh its internal organs. Fortunately, the rat is not real. Its suffering is depicted through animation in the new simulation program „Virtual Pathophysiology”, funded by Doctors Against Animal Experiments.
With the new software and an accompanying book on pathophysiology – the study of pathological changes in the body – we are adding another key component to our successful Eastern Europe project and thus preventing particularly cruel animal experiments in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
„Virtual Pathophysiology” consists of 15 interactive Flash animations and an accompanying textbook with explanations and test exercises in Russian. A team of Ukrainian and Belarusian pathophysiologists, graphic designers, and programmers, along with our Ukrainian project partner Dimitrij Leporskij, worked on the project for two years and developed an interactive program specifically tailored to the types of animal experiments usually conducted in the ex-Soviet states. All contributors have deliberately waived copyright so the software can be distributed free of charge to as many universities in the former Soviet countries as possible.
The software and textbook are being distributed free of charge to 300 universities in Ukraine and Russia.
A key aspect of replacing animal experiments is ensuring that university lecturers are satisfied with the animal-free teaching materials we provide. To increase acceptance, we have dubbed several German- and English-language educational films into Russian and funded the production of a Russian-language teaching film with an accompanying booklet on the physiology of the gastrointestinal tract.
Although we have already successfully replace several pathophysiology courses, it has always been unsatisfactory because we could not offer the professors anything suitable. While there is a wealth of computer programs and films available for physiology, anatomy, and zoology – making the transition easy – pathophysiology has always posed a problem: apart from a few old educational films from the Soviet era, there are no animal-free teaching materials. This is mainly because pathophysiology is not taught using animals in the Anglo-American world, where most computer programs and films originate, nor in Germany. In the former Soviet states, however, these courses are still standard – and these experiments are extremely cruel. Starvation, anemia, oxygen deprivation, allergic shock, inflammation, fever, barotrauma (injury caused by pressure changes during diving), and other cruelties are inflicted on animals purely for demonstration purposes.
Module: “Barotrauma”
The project – including the development of the simulation, textbook, and distribution to 50 institutes in Ukraine and 200 in Russia – cost 8,000 euros. A bargain for such an extensive effort. And worth every cent. Because this project will help save thousands of animals from an extremely agonizing death.