Study design
In vivo
Research performed inside a living organism.
What it means
Definition
In vivo: In vivo studies are conducted in living systems, such as animals or humans. The meaning depends heavily on whether the organism is human and how the study was designed.
What it can tell you
It can show how close the evidence is to a real human health outcome.
What it cannot tell you
It cannot prove that a treatment works in people unless human outcome data are available.
Headline trap
Why this matters in headlines
A finding in vivo in mice is still not the same as a finding in human patients.