Laura Clark

ENG 1101-215

Dr. Cassel

4/23/2017

Figure 1.- Example of a rat used in animal testing (Lush Prize)

Why Animal Testing is Necessary to the Evolution of Medicine and Science

So many people around the world are highly unaware of the impact animal research has

had on the world. Take for example a story about a little girl named Laura. Perhaps Im a bit

biased to her story, as we share the same name. But her story resonates with many. At seven

years old, she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. She was mere moments from slipping into

a diabetic coma. She was instructed that her body no longer produced insulin to process and

break down sugars in her body and would have to maintain it through a healthy diet, exercise,

and the use of insulin. Growing up she had a very close relationship with her dog Maggie. One
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day, her mother shared with her an interesting fact that stuck with her for the rest of her life. Her

mother explained that another dog, like Maggie, had in fact saved her life. Laura didnt quite

understand the connection. Her mother continued to explain how scientists worked with dogs,

like her own, to research diabetes and discovered insulin that help control diabetic afflictions to

help people live long, healthy lives. This information caused Laura to greatly appreciate the

value and nobility of animals used in research. They were in fact the reason why she was alive,

and is alive today. Laura not works in laboratory animal science and aids technicians in the

proper, humane treatment of research animals, to pay back the gratitude that have been

bestowed to her. Animal testing must be allowed to advance scientific and medical studies,

because it in fact, saves lives (Laura).

Areas that will be explored include a bit of historical depiction of the shift in public

opinion in the days of support, as well as opposition. This will lead up to current views in favor of

animal testing, or against it, and supporting methodology either proving or disproving the

position. Lastly, reflecting on the lessons learned and further questions to better understand the

true answer to this question.

When it comes to using animals in research, whether for scientific advances or personal

curiosity, the act of doing so dates back for centuries. In the article, Animal Experiments in

Biomedical Research: A Historical Perspective, Nuno Henrique Franco explains that because

the dissection of people was frowned upon generally, in ancient Greece, physicians used

animals instead. Franco goes on to explain that important and notable physicians that utilized

animals within their experiments include Aristotle, Erasistratus, and Herophilus to name a few.

Erasistratus and Herophilus were attached to some controversy as their furthered research

included live operation on convicted criminals. This did not deter one Roman Physician by the

name of Galen of Pergamon who created in depth techniques for dissection and vivisection (live

operation) which were used up until the Renaissance Age. In the eighteenth century, people
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started becoming more morally aware of the need for an animals wellbeing. Franco mentions

that philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau was noted as saying that animals lacked the

understanding and concepts of natural laws and rights and that they should still be included as

such. In the article, Robert Hooke and the Dogs Lung: Animal Experimentation in History, Dr.

Lindsey Fitzharris provides a great overview of what the consensus was in the medical field

about animal experimentation.

In particular, surgeons-in-training found vivisection a helpful tool for learning how

to operate quickly and confidently. In a pre-anesthetic era, the slightest hesitation

could cause a patient to die from shock and blood loss. Working on the bodies of

live animals allowed the inexperienced surgeon to operate at his own pace,

learning from his mistakes as he went without the fear of accidentally killing

another human being.

The benefit of using live animals cannot be underwhelmed. It has led to numerous

discoveries including (but not limited to) treatments for disease such as heart disease.

Medications, like the insulin that saved Lauras life. Also, anesthesia, which is a medication that

induces sleep, is the same medication used to make patients comfortable during surgery, as

well as the animals being tested by surgical means.

A case study sought to understand what causes the heart to fail, and the effects of diet

and exercise on heart disease. The types of animals they used in their research were rats (as

pictured in Fig. 1). The researcher who mainly used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) type of

techniques to compare between humans and rats, and document changes in metabolism

without having to operate on the human or rat. After a heart attack, the researcher was able to

look at whether novel stem cell treatments would be able to regenerate the dead heart tissue.

Rats have allowed testing to see if it is safe, and whether it may work without affecting a human
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life. During the MRI, the animals are anaesthetized to allow researchers to follow the

progression of disease over time without having to needlessly kill animals just to obtain tissue

samples.

Diabetes is a disease that, in the United State (U.S.) more than 20 million people are

afflicted by, with over 1 million cases newly diagnosed each year. A different type of animal was

extremely important to the research that helped identify the cause of diabetes and helped

researchers to create insulin. That animal, like Lauras canine friend, is a dog. Because of their

assistance researchers have been able to develop pumps that people wear instead of having to

take injections regularly. It pumps a continuous supply of insulin to the patients body.

Researchers are even considering transplants in hopes to cure diabetes.

Many different types of research do require the use of vivisection on the animals being

used. While history depicts the tough road taken to make animals more comfortable, their

sacrifices aided researchers in discovering anesthesia. Many discoveries have aided into the

development of anesthesia, but one that stands out occurred at a medical convention. Arthur

Guedel performed a demonstration with his dog named Airway. He submerged Airway in an

aquarium after using an ethylene-oxygen anesthesia on him through a cuffed tracheal tube. A

circuit was created using a soda lime absorption system to give positive pressure ventilation

underwater. This was administered by another anesthesiologist, Ralph Waters. Together, both

men wanted to prove that if the cuffed tube could prevent Airway from drowning, it could also

protect the trachea from aspirating water. Because of this discovery, airway and anesthesia

collectively combined through procedure (Goyal).

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Figure 2 Animal Research and Alternatives (Novartis)

The benefit of using live animals cannot be underwhelmed. In Figure 2, it explains that in

animals like mice for example, 99% of their DNA is shared by humans. This is an important step

in seeking how organisms and disease are going to act, develop and function overall. It helps to

make sure that medications and procedures are successful for humans. In todays research,

there are alternatives out there to animal testing using Genomic Mapping, Cell cultures and

Computer Simulations and Modeling. This helps to limit the need for animals in research, but it

does not replace them. Complex disease systems can only be researched properly in a living

body. Overall, the number of animals being used for research is declining, but far from

completely removed.
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Perhaps in the future, the medical and scientific branches will be able to reach a

consensus of merging the best of both worlds. By using animals strictly for the advancement of

science and medical research only, this would cut down on the number of animals used for

personal gain. One cannot deny the importance of animal testing, which has aided research in

so many areas, from heart disease, to insulin, to anesthesia, and beyond. Animals, like Lauras

dog Maggie, may one day save the life of someone important to you.
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Works Cited

AALAS Corp. Benefits of Animal Research. Benefits of Animal Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 06

April 12, 2017.

Franco, Nuno Henrique. Animal Experiments in Biomedical Research: A Historical

Perspective. Animals (2076-2615), vol. 3, no. 1, Mar. 2013, pp. 238-273.

Fitzharris, Dr. Lindsey. Robert Hooke and the Dogs Lung Animal Experimentation in History.

Opinion. TheChirurgeonsapprentice.Wordpress, 2015.

https://thechirurgeonsapprentice.com/2015/05/04/robert-hooke-and-the-dogs-lung-

animal-experimentation-in-history/. April 12, 2017.

Goyal, Rakhee. Animal Testing in the History of Anesthesia: Now and Then, Some Stories,

Some Facts. Journal of Anesthesiology, Clinical Pharmacology 31.2 (2015): 149-151.

PMC. Web. 4 May 2017.

N.a. Laura. Laura is a Survivor- Thanks to Mans Best Friend

Kids4Research.Kids4Research, 2013.

http://kids4research.org/Helping/Survivors/Survivor-Lauras-Story

Lush Prize. How Many Animals Are Used in Experiments Around the World.Lush Prize. Lush

Prize, 2017. http://lushprize.org/many-animals-used-experiments-around-world/

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Novartis. Why Animal Research. Animals Research, Novartis AG, 2013,

https://www.novartis.com/our-work/research-development/animals-research/why-

animal-research.

University of Oxford. Research Case Studies.News and Events. University of Oxford, 2017.

http://www.ox.ac.uk/news-and-events/animal-research/research-case-studies#