Table 2.

Definitions of the 3Rs ^a

	Standard	Contemporary
Replacement	Methods which avoid or replace the use of animals	Accelerating the development and use of models and tools, based on the latest science and technologies, to address important scientific questions without the use of animals
Reduction	Methods which minimize the number of animals used per experiment	Appropriately designed and analyzed animal experiments that are robust and reproducible and truly add to the knowledge base
Refinement	Methods which minimize animal suffering and improve welfare	Advancing animal welfare by exploiting the latest in vivo technologies and by improving understanding of the impact of welfare on scientific outcomes

^aFrom National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (n.d.).