9781422279106

history of animal testing HISTORY OF ANIMAL TESTING

The first known experiments by humans on animals were in ancient Greece. The philosopher and scientist Aristotle, who lived from 382 to 322 bce , wrote about performing tests on live animals as a way to understand how the human body functions. Erasistratus (304–250 bce ) was a physician who founded a school of anatomy in Alexandria, Greece. Based on his dissections of animals, he identified the valves of the heart and the dif- ference between the veins and arteries that circulate blood to and from that vital organ. Fast forward to ancient Rome, where phi- losopher and physician Galen (130–200) dissected pigs, goats, and even an elephant during his studies of human anatomy. He

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