Animal Testing In Medical Research

Abstract

Animal testing the experiments performed on animals that are used to test the effectiveness and safety of a wide range of things, from medication to cosmetics. They are also used to understand how the human body works. Animal testing is one of the major controversial issues, but animal testing has dramatically contributed to science. First, some people think that animal testing should not be used for testing medical techniques and drugs. However, medical research involving animal testing improved the health of human beings. They also say that information from an animal doesn’t apply on a human being, but there are enough similarities between humans and animals to apply the test results. Also, animal rights supporters say that animal

They are also used to understand how the human body works (Murnaghan, 2015). Centuries ago, scientists used animal testing for anatomical purposes. For example, early Greek scientists, Erasistratus and Herophilus, tested animals and studied the different types of nerves and their functions. Furthermore, in the 12th century, an Arab scientist, Ibn Zuhr, used animals to test his surgeries before performing them onto his human patients (Scutti, 2013). At the same time, there are a lot of animal rights organizations and proponents who are against animal testing, including AFMA, ALF, AVC, and BUAV (“Animal Rights Activists and Organizations | Speaking of Research,” n.d.). Henceforth, as animal testing increased, so did the controversy surrounding it (“Animal testing,” n.d.). Moreover, with the help of animal testing, various treatments and medicines are developed for unconventional diseases. Although animal testing may seem ruthless, animals are used for experimental research that contributes to science if there are no other possible substitutes. Animal testing is a debatable topic that still continues to be one until this time. Animal experimentation should persist because it saves human’s life from diseases, ensures cosmetics’ safety, and improves medical

Then again, medical examinations involving animal testing have greatly improved the health being of humans. Surgical methods and medications nowadays would not be discovered if it was not for the understanding of the diseases and how the body works. This can be approached by using animal testing. Animal experimentation has contributed to the abundance of medication we now have in the palm of our hands. For instance, we have treatments for asthma, high blood pressure, and diabetes which were all discovered using animal testing. We also have antibiotics and vaccines to prevent infections (Understanding Animal Research, 2014). According to studies, breast cancer is the most common cancer after non-melanoma skin cancer. The wide range of breast cancer treatments was all discovered and developed through animal testing. Those treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, high-dose x-rays, and hormones such as tamoxifen, Herceptin and aromatase inhibitors (Understanding Animal Research, 2014). Moreover, the development of the heart-lung machine depended heavily on animal testing. In the early 1900’s, John Gibbon and his wife carried an experiment on cats and developed a machine that would work instead of the cat’s lungs and heart for approximately twenty minutes. Through a series of multiple animal experiments, the heart-lung machine was developed, which was used to do