Vivisection and the Experiments of the Physiologist

For centuries, animal dissection has been used to further knowledge and understanding of the internal workings of the human body. This was based upon the assumptions that comparative anatomy could yield understanding of human anatomy and that human physiology could be inferred from that of other mammals. Galen was an early proponent of animal dissection for this purpose. During the nineteenth century, with an increasing understanding of the role of science in medicine, there came a large increase in animal experimentation.This was accompanied by a growing unease about the conditions under which such work took place.