Early Uses Of Animal Experimentation - 1125 Words

Early Uses of Animals in Science: -Aristotle (384-322 BC), Erasistratus (304-258 BC), and Galen (129-217 AD) used animal experimentation to advance human understandings of anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. -Ibn Zuhr (12th Century) tested surgical procedures on animals before applying them to human patients. Intro: Animal testing has always been a controversial topic. In the 17th century, it was argued that pain during vivisection (operations on live organisms) rendered results concerning animal physiology unreliable. Also, some believed that the benefit to humans did not justify the harm to animals. It was commonly believed that animals were so inferior and different to humans that results from animals were inapplicable to†¦show more content†¦Examples: Animal testing is crucial to new discovery. In 1921, Frederick Banting discovered insulin to be an effective treatment for diabetes. His initial research used dogs, and later, bovine sources were used to improve insulin supply. He won a Nobel Prize in 1923 for his work. Animal sources were essential to Banting’s discovery. Prior to insulin, diabetics were kept alive on a semi-starvation diet. Diabetic children rarely lived more than a year past diagnosis. With insulin and careful management of a diabetic’s diet, those with type one diabetes can expect to live a normal life. Insulin has saved the lives of countless individuals, and it would not have been discovered without the use of animals in research. http://jdrf.org/about-jdrf/fact-sheets/type-1-diabetes-facts/ http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-life-expectancy.html Animal Testing is necessary to determine whether or not materials are safe for humans. More than a hundred people were killed when diethylene glycol (DEG) was used as a solvent in a drug preparation (it was used to add the raspberry flavour). Another such example took place in the 1950’s, when more than 10,000 children were born with missing limbs because of a drug taken for morning sickness. Neither of these drugs were tested on animals prior to their release. The Code of R’s attempts to reduce the impact of research on animals. Reduction entails the use of fewer animals in experiments. This is