**3. Final considerations**

The animal models described here can contribute to the understanding of various mechanisms involved in IBD, as well as to the development of new drugs to improve the treatment. It would be extremely difficult to carry out these investigations and experimentation in humans. However, due to a good number of animal models available for this disease, care should be taken in the selection of animal/model choice. Investigators should take into consideration the purpose of their study, for example, the type of compound to be tested and/or pathophysiological mechanisms to be investigated.
