Animals on Medical Research :
| Use of animals in medical research has immensely contributed in almost every major medical breakthrough. An estimated 50 to 100 million animals are routinely used every year for research purposes across the globe in various research organizations including universities, medical schools, pharmaceutical industries, biotechnological firms, defense establishments and commercial institutes that provide animal-testing facilities. |
A few phenomenal medical developments that were possible due to use of animals include organ transplantation where dogs were used, development of penicillin where mice were used and use of vaccines where research was conducted on mice and monkeys.
History of animal use for medical research dates back to 4th century B.C., when scientists like Aristotle, Galen and Erasistratus performed experiments on animals. In the modern day research, multiple animal species are used depending on the requirements. Some of these include invertebrates like Drosophila and Caenorhabditis; rodents like mice, hamsters, guinea-pigs, rats, and gerbils; fish; amphibians like Xenopus; rabbits, dogs, goats, birds, cats, and non-human primates such as apes, gorillas, squirrel monkeys, baboons, chimpanzees, macaques and orangutans.
Some of the major areas of research where animals are widely used include:
- Pure research involving studies in areas like mutagenesis, behavioral studies, evolution, genetics, physiology, immunology and reproductive biology.
- Applied research aspects involving use of animals for studying a disease pattern and drug discovery. Applied research requires use of genetically modified animals such as transgenic mice and nude mice.
- Xenotransplantation experiments require use of primates as organ recipients.
- Animals are also used for the purpose of conducting toxicology studies, metabolic tests, physiological effects and efficacy studies. As per existing regulations, every therapeutic formulation requires extensive animal testing before being licensed for human use.
- Usage of animals is also required for testing cosmetic products.
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