Animal Testing Essential to Medical Progress

Running Head: Animal Testing 1

Abstract
Animal testing is an extremely argumentative topic. Some are with animal testing since they

believe it helps in medicine progression and aids in the discovery of innovative treatments. It

helps in the development of vaccines, treatments for cancer and many drugs like antidepressants,

antibiotics, insulin, and others. Opponents argue that animal testing is not efficient and there are

alternatives to animals. They believe that animals are equal to humans and they will suffer and

feel pain from animal testing.

Running Head: Animal Testing 2

Animal testing is the use of animals in scientific research. It is the process of subjecting animals

to clinical trials before performing human trials. It is used to assess safety and effectiveness of

everything from medication to cosmetics as well as understanding how the human body
functions. There are many products that involve animal experimentation like cosmetics,

vaccines, drugs, pesticides, supplements, and many others(Murnaghan, 2018). Going back in

history reveals the usage of animals in biomedical research. Early Greek scientists like Aristotle

conducted experiments on animals. Similarly, Galen performed animal experimentation to

advance the understanding of anatomy, pharmacology, physiology, and pathology. Ibn Zuhr, an

Arab physician, tested the surgical procedures on animals before applying them to

humans(Hajar, 2011).In order to develop new medical treatments and know more about health

problems, animal testing is an essential step.

First, animal testing enables scientists to discover lifesaving cures and treatment. Treatments for

cancer, HIV drugs, diabetes, antibiotics, vaccines, and many more have been made possible by

animal experimentation. Every drug now in the pharmacy was tested on animals before it is

marketed.
Running There
Head: is a mustTesting
Animal step which is called a preclinical study in which the drug is tested on 3

animals before applying it to human. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration)will not give the

approval on the drug if this step is missed. The experiments of pancreas removal on dogs lead to

the discovery of insulin which is considered the lifesaving for diabetic patients(Lakhtakia &

Langerhans, 2013) (Fig. 1). The polio vaccine which is discovered from experiments done on

monkeys was very beneficial. The poliomyelitis disease is no longer a major risk to the human

health in the United States. Its occurrence declined from 350,000 cases in 1988 to 27 cases in

2016(“Guidelines for the safe production and quality control of poliomyelitis vaccine Proposed

revision of Annex 2 of WHO Technical Report Series, No . 926,” 2018). Prozac is an

antidepressant drug prescribed to patients with depression. This drug was developed from

experiments on rats(Almeida.etal, 2014).

ways. Chimpanzees have 99% of their DNA similar to humans. Similarly, rats have 98% of their

genes like humans. All mammals, including humans, have the same set of organs: kidneys,

lungs, heart… that function in the same way with the coordination of the nervous system and

bloodstream. Thus, they are all susceptible to many of the same diseases. For instance,rabbits,

like humans, suffer from emphysema, atherosclerosis, and birth defects such as spina bifida.

Dogs are appropriate subjects for research into disorders like cataracts, diabetes, cancer, and

bleeding. Cats become ill with some of the visual impairments like humans which make them

natural candidates for this disorder(“CBRA Fact Sheet Why Are Animals Necessary in

Biomedical Research ?,” n.d.).

Animal testing is highly regulated with laws to protect them from mistreatment. Besides the local

and state laws

Animal Welfare Act (AWA). It requires the inspections for research animal by the veterinarians

beside the minimum housing standards from temperature to clean food and water, enclosure size

and others. Under this law, any process can be performed on animals if it is successfully proven

that it is scientifically justified. An Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) must

approve all the proposals to utilize animals for research or experiments (Badyal,D.K.and Desai,

C.2014).(Fig. 2)

Other opponents argue that there are alternative methods that can replace the need for animals. In

vitro testing, such as studying cell cultures in a petri dish can be used instead of animals.

Computer models such as virtual reconstructions of human molecular structures can predict the

toxicity of substances without performing experiments on animals. Although these alternatives

can be successful in some cases, animal testing is still the most efficient way. Evaluating the side
effect of a drug cannot be done on a petri dish. It requires a circulatory system to carry the

medicine to different organs. Moreover, conditions like blindness and hypertension cannot be

studies on tissue culture. Computer models, including the most powerful ones, are unable to

imitate the workings of complex organs like the brain (Badyal,D.K.and Desai, C.2014).

To sum up, animal testing is very important in biomedical research. It helps researchers to find

treatments for various illnesses. Moreover, animals are similar to humans biologically which

facilitates the idea of them being candidates for research. In addition to the existence of several

laws and guidelines that regulate the process of animal experimentation. If an alternative method

can be used, investigators will not count till five. Animal testing is a lifesaving to human beings

as well as many animals.

Running Head: Animal Testing 5

Fig. 1: Discovery of Insulin.

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Fig. 2: Laws and Regulation for use of experimental animals Worldwide

References:
Almeida, I. V, Mariucci, R. G., Mantovani, M. S., & Londrina, U. E. De. (2014). Cytotoxicity

and mutagenicity of fluoxetine hydrochloride ( Prozac ), with or without vitamins A and C ,

in plant and animal model systems, 13(1), 578–589.

Badyal, D. K., & Desai, C. (2014). Animal use in pharmacology education and research: the

changing scenario. Indian journal of pharmacology, 46(3), 257-65.

CBRA Fact Sheet Why Are Animals Necessary in Biomedical Research ? (n.d.).

Guidelines for the safe production and quality control of poliomyelitis vaccine Proposed revision

of Annex 2 of WHO Technical Report Series , No . 926. (2018), 1–33.

Hajar, R. (2011). Heart views : the official journal of the Gulf Heart Association. Animal Testing
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and Medicine, 12(1), 42.

Lakhtakia, R., & Langerhans, P. (2013). The History of Diabetes Mellitus, 13(August), 368–370.

Murnaghan, I. (2018). What is Animal Testing.