We are delighted to present this special issue of Annals of Anatomy dedicated to “Applied Anatomy of Preclinical Models”. By the end of the 20th century, biomedical research relies on model organisms, which have been developed as resource materials in order to study particular biological phenomena exhaustively or in great detail, usually including genetic and developmental processes. To characterize the morphological, physiological and behavioural phenotype traits of preclinical animal models, as well as validate target genes or perform in vivo preclinical drug screening, is fundamental to understand specific biological mechanisms, as well as expand anatomic knowledge. Concomitantly to the key-role of model organisms in biomedicine, there is a re-awakening of the importance of anatomy with the realization that sound knowledge of anatomy is the backbone of safe clinical practice. Anatomical (i.e. x-Ray and Ultrasounds imaging) and functional and/or molecular imaging (i.e. MRI, PET, and lacZ gene expression) techniques as well as traditional gross, histologic and developmental anatomical approaches represent valuable and complementary tools for the evaluation of the preclinical models.
The aim of this issue of Annals of Anatomy is to put together contributions from experts in the field working on the morphological characterization of small and large preclinical animal models used in biomedicine, who constitute a very significant piece of extensive investigation from the bench to bedside. An appropriate identification and investigation of anatomical structures increases the accuracy, precision and throughput of phenotypic estimation at all levels of biological organization of model organisms.
Collectively, the papers should provide a timely and critical analysis of the available resources for the morphological evaluation of model organisms in different levels (cellular, tissutal, and organic), for enhancing and deepening our understanding of anatomical features of such models. Furthermore, these papers represent accessible anatomical learning materials for the benefit of the wider scientific community, because one of the bottlenecks in the process of stablishing suitable preclinical models for human diseases is the lack of accurately knowledge to make morphological phenotyping.
We would very much like to thank all of the authors for their wonderful contributions and to the reviewers for their very useful comments.