Ethical Issue
Ethical Issues in the Use of Animals in Biomedical Research
Richard R. Sharp, PhD
Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy
Baylor College of Medicine
Historical Perspectives
The use of animals in biomedical research has a lengthy history. Early Greek writings (circa 500 B.C.), for example, describe the dissection of living animals by physician-scientists interested in physiological processes. These early vivisections appear to have been done mostly for exploratory purposes, however, to describe the inner workings of animals. Later, Roman physicians--including perhaps the single most influential figure in the emergence of the medical sciences, the physician Galen--began to perform what we would now regard as the first genuine experiments involving animals. Using vivisections to test specific hypotheses and explore competing explanations of biological phenomena, these early physician-researcher were among the first advocates of the idea that the use of animals in research was morally justifiable in light of the potential health benefits associated with those experiments.
Beginning with Galen, animal vivisection quickly emerged as an important tool for the study of anatomical structures and their functioning. Remarkably, Galen’s teachings on human anatomy, which were widely used by physicians and scientists for nearly 1500 years, were derived from animal dissections and external examinations of the human body--he conducted no human autopsies. Later, as modern scientific principles were increasingly incorporated into the study of human physiology, physician-researchers such as Andrea Vesalius and William Harvey continued to employ animal vivisection in their investigations of the functioning of various anatomical structures, particularly the heart and lungs.
Throughout this historical period, few philosophical or moral objections were voiced regarding the use of animals in biomedical studies. This is perhaps surprising for two reasons. First,
Richard R. Sharp, PhD
Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy
Baylor College of Medicine
Historical Perspectives
The use of animals in biomedical research has a lengthy history. Early Greek writings (circa 500 B.C.), for example, describe the dissection of living animals by physician-scientists interested in physiological processes. These early vivisections appear to have been done mostly for exploratory purposes, however, to describe the inner workings of animals. Later, Roman physicians--including perhaps the single most influential figure in the emergence of the medical sciences, the physician Galen--began to perform what we would now regard as the first genuine experiments involving animals. Using vivisections to test specific hypotheses and explore competing explanations of biological phenomena, these early physician-researcher were among the first advocates of the idea that the use of animals in research was morally justifiable in light of the potential health benefits associated with those experiments.
Beginning with Galen, animal vivisection quickly emerged as an important tool for the study of anatomical structures and their functioning. Remarkably, Galen’s teachings on human anatomy, which were widely used by physicians and scientists for nearly 1500 years, were derived from animal dissections and external examinations of the human body--he conducted no human autopsies. Later, as modern scientific principles were increasingly incorporated into the study of human physiology, physician-researchers such as Andrea Vesalius and William Harvey continued to employ animal vivisection in their investigations of the functioning of various anatomical structures, particularly the heart and lungs.
Throughout this historical period, few philosophical or moral objections were voiced regarding the use of animals in biomedical studies. This is perhaps surprising for two reasons. First,