Phychology Case

* Animal Experimentation, the use of animals under controlled laboratory conditions for a variety of scientific and medical purposes. Scientists use laboratory animals to investigate biological processes in humans and animals; to study the causes of diseases; to test drugs, vaccines, and surgical techniques; and to evaluate the safety of chemicals used in pesticides, cosmetics, and other products.

Scientific researchers use animals in biomedical and veterinary research aimed at improving human health and the welfare of other animals. Successful medical treatments, including antibiotics and vaccines, have been developed through animal experimentation. Many scientists argue that animal experimentation remains a crucial tool for the investigation and treatment of serious diseases such as cancer, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and heart disease. However, animal rights activists have protested against various forms of animal experimentation, noting that procedures such as vivisection ignore the capacity of animals to feel pain. They also object to toxicity testing performed on animals to help determine whether cosmetics and other products are safe for human use. Laws exist in many countries to regulate the use and treatment of laboratory animals in scientific industries and in education.

In many cases, scientific and biomedical research can be performed on laboratory cultures consisting of specific cells or tissues, or on simple life forms such as bacteria. Some research, however, is better conducted by studying the more complex responses of an animal. Many animals function essentially like humans, and thus provide the best models for experiments on fundamental processes such as breathing, eating and digesting food, and reproducing. Some animals suffer from the same diseases as humans do, with immune systems that respond similarly to disease-causing agents such as viruses and bacteria. Animals also carry a number of genes that are identical to human genes, with information for similar traits. Given these similarities, scientists have been able to learn much about the human body by studying animals.

The practice of experimenting on animals goes back many centuries. As early as the 2nd century ad, Roman physician Galen experimented on pigs and apes to demonstrate that veins carry blood, not air, as had been believed. In the early 1600s English physician William Harvey studied diverse animals such as worms, insects, fish, and frogs, providing pioneering insights into the principle by which blood circulates in the

...