Selection of the Experimental Unit in Teratology Studies

In teratology experiments the litter (pregnant female) rather than the fetus is advocated as being the proper experimental unit upon which to base the statistical analysis. It is pointed out that per litter tests, by being based on the average fetal response within a litter, do take the individual fetus into account. Actual experimental data are used to show that when litter effects are present a per fetus analysis is invalid and may seriously exaggerate the significance level. It is also shown that there appears to be little loss in sensitivity in performing per litter tests even in the unlikely event that there are no litter effects. Thus it certainly seems prudent to analyze teratology data with test procedures that treat the litter as the experimental unit.