Krogh Principle
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August Krogh in 1929 stated that "For a large number of problems there will be some animal of choice or a few such animals on which it can be most conveniently studied." In 1975 Hans Adolph Krebs, of Kreb's or Citric Acid Cycle fame, referred to it as The Krogh Principle.
The principle can also be stated as the use of a large number of animals for the study of physiological problems, rather than limiting the study of all physiological features to a particular organism. Some organisms are more suited to study of a particular problem than others.
The principle is used in comparative physiology for the studying and analysis of function of a particular physiological mechanism.
This principle is a contrast to earlier scientific analysis in which a model species was used for all physiological comparisons, regardless of how well suited the species was to the specific question.
As an extension of the Krogh Principle, modern biologists often modify organisms to increase their suitability for studying particular phenomena. Types of "phenotypic engineering" include surgical manipulations, hormonal manipulations, pharmacological manipulations, and organ or embryo transplants. Types of "genetic engineering" include mutagenesis, transgenesis, selective breeding, and experimental evolution.
[edit] Further reading
- A. Krogh (1929). The progress of physiology. American Journal of Physiology 90:243-251.
- H. A. Krebs (1975). The August Krogh principle: "For many problems there is an animal on which it can be most conveniently studied." Journal of Experimental Zoology 194:221-226.
- W. W. Burggren (1999/2000). Developmental physiology, animal models, and the August Krogh principle. Zoology 102:148-156.
- A. F. Bennett (2003). Experimental evolution and the Krogh Principle: generating biological novelty for functional and genetic analyses. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 76:1-11. PDF
