Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Animal experimentation has been going on since the 19th century with tests being conducted on both dead and live animals such as dogs, cats, mice, monkeys, rabbits, birds, monkeys and guinea pigs. French chemist Louis Pasteur pioneered new treatments for cholera and anthrax by experimenting on chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs. British surgeon Joseph Lister tested carbolic acid on animals and discovered the substance could effectively sterilize surgical instruments, sutures and wound dressings, thereby preventing infection of wounds. Since then, scientists have used animal experiments to develop vaccines for dozens of infectious diseases, including diphtheria, tetanus, rabies, whooping cough, tuberculosis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella and - just recently - Hemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), a major cause of meningitis. Apart from vaccines, animal research has played a major role in the development of antibiotics such as penicillin and life-saving medical procedures suc