Final answer:
Performing CAM on animals is considered practicing veterinary medicine as it involves applying medical expertise to ensure the welfare of the animals during research. Veterinary medicine requires extensive education in various scientific fields including animal anatomy and pathology. There is a current movement toward alternative research methods that minimize or eliminate the use of animals.
Step-by-step explanation:
The practice of Controlled Animal Model (CAM) on animals for medical research does indeed constitute a form of veterinary medicine. Veterinarians are highly educated individuals who must earn a degree in veterinary medicine, covering a broad range of courses from comparative zoology to pathology, and including other scientific disciplines such as chemistry and physics. Veterinary professionals are responsible for the health and welfare of the animals they work with, which includes the application of medical expertise in a research setting.
In current medical research, there is a growing emphasis on finding alternatives to the use of animals. Techniques such as patient-drug databases, virtual drug trials, computer models and simulations, noninvasive imaging technologies like MRI and CT scans, and in vitro methods including human cell and tissue cultures are increasingly employed. These methods are being developed to improve the accuracy and reliability of medical research, aiming to reduce or eliminate the need for animal testing.