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American Physiological Society Operational Guide
2002 Revision

Appendix B: Code of Ethics
Appendix C: Guiding Principles for Research Involving Animals and Human Beings
     Recommendations From The Revised Declaration of Helsinki
     Guiding Principles in the Care and Use of Animals
    American Physiological Society Statements on Animal Usage
Appendix D: IUPS Agreement
Appendix E: Affiliate APS Societies
Appendix F: Oxford University Press Agreement
Appendix G: APS - USSR Agreement
Appendix H: APS Policy for Dealing with Scientific Misconduct
Appendix I: APS Strategic Plan
Appendix J: Experimental Bilogy Management Agreement
Appendix K: Authorization for Executive Director and Business Manager to Open Bank Accounts
Appendix L: Chapter Guidelines Chartering and Administration
Appendix M: APS Guidelines for Interactions Between Society Members and Headquarters Staff

APPENDIX B

Code of Ethics

(Adopted by Council October 1989)

Membership in the American Physiological Society includes the acceptance of and the responsibility to uphold the following Code of Ethics.

The role of the physiologist is to advance the field through teaching, research, and service. In the process physiologists shall be honest in their reporting of research findings and ethical in their dealings with others. Moreover, physiologists shall be humane in the treatment of human and non–human subjects. Physiologists shall also have the professional responsibility to bring to the attention of appropriate authorities apparent violations of these principles.

Physiologists recognize the Society's responsibility to consider breaches of ethical behavior and to take any response deemed necessary in accordance with the Society's Bylaws, Article IX, Section 4 and as defined in the Operational Guide.

APPENDIX C

Guiding Principles for Research Involving Animals and Human Beings

Recommendations From The Revised Declaration of Helsinki by the World Medical Association Regarding Human Subjects

I.    Basic Principles

1.   Clinical research must conform to the moral and scientific principles that justify medical research and should be based on laboratory and animal experiments or other scientifically established facts.

2. Clinical research should be conducted only by scientifically qualified persons and under the supervision of a qualified medical man.

3. Clinical research cannot legitimately be carried out unless the importance of the objective is in proportion to the inherent risk to the subject.

4. Every clinical research project should be preceded by careful assessment of inherent risks in comparison to foreseeable benefits to the subject or to others.

5. Special caution should be exercised by the doctor in performing clinical research in which the personality of the subject is liable to he altered by drugs or experimental procedure.

II. Clinical Research Combined with Professional Care

1. In the treatment of the sick person, the doctor must be free to use a new therapeutic measure, if in his judgment it offers hope of saving life, reestablishing health, or alleviating suffering.

If at all possible, consistent with patient psychology, the doctor should obtain the patient's freely given consent after the patient has been given a full explanation. In case of legal incapacity, consent should also he procured for the legal guardian, in case of physical incapacity the permission of the legal guardian replaces that of the patient.

2. The doctor can combine clinical research with professional care, the objective being the acquisition of new medical knowledge, only to the extent that clinical research is justified by its therapeutic value for the patient.

III. Non-Therapeutic Clinical Research

1. In the purely scientific application of clinical research carried out on a human being, it is the duty of the doctor to remain the protector of the life and health of that person on whom clinical research is being carried out.

2. The nature, the purpose and the risk of clinical research must be explained to the subject by the doctor.

3a. Clinical research on a human being cannot be undertaken without his free consent after he has been informed; if he is legally incompetent, the consent of the legal guardian should be procured.

3b. The subject of clinical research should be in such a mental, physical and legal state as to be able to exercise fully his power of choice.

3c. Consent should, as a rule, be obtained in writing. However, the responsibility for clinical research always remains with the research worker; it never falls on the subject even after consent is obtained.

4a. The investigator must respect the right of each individual to safeguard his personal integrity, especially if the subject is in a dependent relationship to the investigator.

4b. At any time during the course of clinical research the subject of his guardian should be free to withdraw permission for research to be continued.

The investigator or the investigating team should discontinue the research if in his or their judgment, it may, if continued, be harmful to the individual.

APS Guiding Principles in the Care and Use of Animals

Approved by the Council of The American Physiological Society¹

Animal experiments are to be undertaken only with the purpose of advancing knowledge. Consideration should be given to the appropriateness of experimental procedures, species of animals used, and number of animals required.

Only animals that are lawfully acquired shall be used in laboratory research, and their retention and use shall be in every case in compliance with federal, state and local laws and regulations, and in accordance with the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (ILAR) Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.²

Animals used in research and education must receive every consideration for their comfort; they must be properly housed, fed, and their surroundings kept in sanitary conditions.

The use of animals must be in accordance with the ILAR Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Appropriate anesthetics must be used to eliminate sensibility to pain during all surgical procedures. Drugs that produce muscle paralysis are  not anesthetics and they may not be used alone for surgical restraint, but may be used in conjunction with drugs known to produce adequate anesthesia. The care and use of animals shall be such as to minimize discomfort and pain. All measures to minimize pain and distress that would not compromise experimental results must be employed.

If the study requires the death of an animal, the most humane euthanasia method consistent with the study must be used.

When animals are used by students for their education or the advancements of science, such work shall be under the direct supervision of an experienced teacher or investigator. 

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¹Formulated in 1909 by Walter B. Cannon; Revised and Adopted by APS Council in 1953; Latest Revision 2000

²Institute for Laboratory Animal Research. National Research Council. Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1996.  

American Physiological Society Statements on Animal Usage

Policy on Animal Research

The APS recognizes the importance of research that depends upon animals of large size, advanced age, and diverse genetic background. These are known as "random source animals," and, in many places, they are legally available at reasonable cost only from the Class B category of USDA-licensed dealers. Class B dealers are important due to many state and local laws that prohibit the transfer of abandoned and feral animals from pounds to research facilities. Until this regrettable situation can be changed, the APS will support all efforts to make the current USDA licensing system work as well as possible. We therefore support providing the USDA with appropriate funding to ensure adequate resources to conduct the necessary inspections and oversight.

The Animal Welfare Act is rooted in the desire to prevent pets from inadvertently becoming research subjects. The APS encourages researchers to actively promote policies to assure that their institutions utilize only dealers who comply fully with all Animal Welfare Act requirements. Researchers should be knowledgeable about where their institutions obtain random source animals and should be certain that incoming animals are screened for identifying marks or other signs that they might be lost pets.

In addition, researchers and research institutions should promote responsible pet ownership that can avert many situations in which pets get lost or come to harm. We encourage the public to have their pets neutered; identify pets with either a tattoo or a chip implant, as well as a collar; and keep pets protected in a home or yard.

June 1995

The Use of Animals is Necessary for the Proper Teaching of Students of the Biomedical Sciences

The American Physiological Society believes the use of animals is important in the education of students in the biomedical sciences. The use of animals gives the student a direct understanding of how living systems work, an understanding that cannot be gained by reading a textbook, watching a video, or using a computer. To achieve the best biomedical education students must have a complete learning experience including the use of laboratory animals.

October 1987

Animal Research is the Most Humane Response to Human Suffering from Disease

Depriving sick human beings of the benefits of animal research is inhumane and reprehensible. The American Physiological Society advocates the use of animals for research and teaching as the most humane response to the need to relieve mankind from the suffering caused by disease. The use of animals is necessary if researchers are to combat illness, which affects both human beings and animals. The correct training of physicians and medical scientists also requires the use of animals for laboratory teaching. Textbooks, isolated cells, computer models, and other representations of the intact living organism can provide only a partial understanding of the life processes for both the medical researcher and the student. Efforts to deny the human race the best possible curative power of modern sciences must be repulsed.

October 1987

Pound Animals

Unclaimed pound animals (random source dogs and cats) have proved to be the most useful animals for the purposes of research and teaching. Medical advances benefiting both humans and animals were possible because of the availability of unclaimed pound animals for use in research. The American Physiological Society strongly believes that denial of the availability of random source animals would be a catastrophic setback and the Society strongly endorses the continued use of unclaimed pound animals for basic and clinical research and teaching.

April 1986

APPENDIX D

AGREEMENT

MADE this  31  day of  January  , 1985, by and between: THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF PHYSIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, hereafter sometimes "IUPS", and

THE AMERICAN PHYSIOLOGICAL SOCIETY, hereafter sometimes "APS",

WHEREAS IUPS is a non-profit corporation organized and existing under the laws of the District of Columbia with principal offices at laboratoire de Physiologie, 91, Boulevard de l'Hospital, 75634 Paris, Cedex 13, and

WHEREAS APS is a non‑profit corporation organized and existing under the laws of Missouri and with principal offices at 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, and

WHEREAS APS is a supporting society of IUPS, and

WHEREAS APS and IUPS have broad areas of mutual interest in the physiological sciences and education, and

WHEREAS APS is engaged, among other activities, in publication of scientific journals and periodicals, and

WHEREAS the parties intend to found, develop and own jointly a journal to describe and report current trends and news of interest to the physiological community.

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of their mutual promises and other valuable consideration, the parties agree as follows:

1. The parties agree to found and own jointly a journal (hereafter Athe Journal@), which will report and describe trends, discoveries and events of interest to scientists and others working in the field of physiology.

2. Joint Board - A joint board consisting of two representatives each of IUPS and APS shall decide general questions of policy in consultation with the Managing Publisher and Chief Editor.

3. Name of Publication - The parties shall select the name to be used for the Journal by mutual consent.

4. Ownership - IUPS and APS shall each own a one-half undivided interest in the Journal including, but not limited to, the name, goodwill, subscriber lists, copyrights, plates, proofs, back issues, and the like.

5. Transferability - Neither party shall transfer, assign, or otherwise alienate its interest in the Journal without the prior written consent of the other party.

6. Editors - IUPS and APS through their Joint Board shall select the Chief Editor. There shall be a Chief Editor, Associate Editors, and an Editorial Board.

7. Editorial Board - The Associate Editors and the Editorial Board shall be appointed by the Chief Editor subject to the approval of IUPS and APS. The Associate Editors and Editorial Board shall have the duties, responsibilities, and powers assigned to them from time to time by the Chief Editor. Each supporting society and/or adhering body of IUPS shall have the right to nominate candidates for the Editorial Board.