The medicinal use of animals for the benefit of humans, zootherapy, dates all the way back to the medieval period. Many indigenous peoples around the world rely solely on the use of plants and animals for the healing and treatment of their people. These ancient uses of animals have often led to scientific research of the specific uses of animals and compounds developed from animals in modern medicine. The use of leeches is a well-know type of zootherapy that has recently been approved by the FDA. The venom of cone snails is also being studied and used in pain relief for people who suffer from cancer and other painful diseases. Also, there are studies being done on the ability of arctic mammals, such as the arctic ground squirrel, to survive in subzero temperatures during hibernation. Scientists are looking to incorporate this in organ transplants to prolong the life of organs outside the body, and in protecting the brain from ischaemia.
The carnivorous worm Hirudo medicinalis, commonly known as a leech, has recently been approved by the FDA as a medicinal device. In June, 2004 the FDA gave the French company Ricarimpex SAS a license to market leeches for medical use in the United States. Leeches are commonly used post-operatively in reconstructive surgery. It is difficult for ruptured veins to rejoin after surgery without any vessels to drain blood away. This can cause cells to die from oxygen deprivation. Leeches can eliminate this by sucking the pooled blood, which allows the body to re-establish the network of blood vessels (Pilcher 2004). There are also recent studies being done on the use of leeches in the treatment of osteoarthritis. This condition occurs when cartilage in the knee joint breaks down. This causes a great ...
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...the world. Eventually the use of cone snail venom may relieve many people of the pain they suffer as a result of cancer, arthritis, and other diseases. Leeches, a well known medicinal animal, will now be more widely used because of their approval by the FDA. Also, with more research, the arctic ground squirrel may lead scientists to the discovery of how to prolong the life of organs outside of the body before transplantation and to prevent tissue loss in stroke victims. With more and more research being done on medicinal uses of animals there may someday be a cure for many fatal and painful diseases.
Literature Cited
Bradbury, J. 2001. How hibernators might one day solve medical problems. Lancet. 358:
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Gibbs, W. 1996. A new way to spell relief: v-e-n-o-m. Scientific American. 274: 28.
Pilcher, H. 2004. Medicinal leeches: stuck on you. Nature.
Leech therapy aided all of the patients that were case-studied. One of the elderly patients, a 53-year-old with RSD, had oedema reduced from her foot and her pain controlled with medication and fitted orthotics. The 16-year-old patient recovered well from her severe painful hypertrophic scar, after having 10 leeches ‘engorged 3 to 5 cc of blood’ and having 50 percent of the incision faded and 80 percent reduction of pain which allowed her to walk again ‘pain-free’. The third patient, a 52-year-old, had reduced swelling of her feet from severe burning, hyperesthesia and ‘forefoot oedema’ after the application of 12 leeches.
Animal experiments used in biological research have helped make many advancements in human medicine. Through these experiments when has achieved, a decrease in infant mortality, longer lifespan, and an increase in the quality of life (American Medical Associaton 3). Through indirect of direct experimentation, almost all medical advances can be traced back to research through animals. The control and dismissal of diseases like: small pox, poliomyelitis, and measles has been achieved with animals. Blood transfusions, burn therapy, open brain and hearts surgery where all fulfilled the same way (American Medical Association 54). "Biomedical advances depend on research with animals, and not using them would deprive humans and criminals of the benefits of research" (American Media Association74). Through animal research we could find solutions to AIDS, cancer, heart diseases, aging, and congenital defects. Like Lord Adrian said, “The use of living animals in scientific research can be considered justified if it is likely to produce appreciable benefit to society, if there is no way to conduct the research in quest...
Historically, the use of animals for experimental purposes dates back to early Greek physician-scientists. Aristotle and Galen both conducted experiments on animals in an effort to contribute to our understanding of science and medicine.1 Claude Bernard later established animal experimentation as part of the scientific method. Known as the father of physiology, Bernard stated that “experiments on animals are entirely conclusive for the toxicology and hygiene of man. The effects of these substances are the same on man as on animals, save for differences in degree.”1 Bernard’s work strongly influenced the use of animals in biomedical research, which has become a common, and often required, practice today. The American Medical Association (AMA)...
Using animals for research and experimentation has led to cancer survival rates to continue to rise. Using animals for research and experimentation has helped the survival rates rise to many other different sicknesses and diseases. People who suffer from diabetes rely on insulin that was developed through experiments in rabbits and dogs.
Ever since the dawn of human civilization, people have enclosed animals for their own personal enjoyment. In modern times, animals are now kept in zoos and aquariums not just for entertainment, but also for preventing the extinction of a diversity of species. For the past few decades, animal rights activists have been disputing whether or not if these captive areas have been benefiting the animals or if they are just depriving them from their natural rights. Even though supporters of zoos and aquariums argue that these isolated environments improve animals’ lives; the emotional state, habitat, and nutrition change drastically causing problems for the captive animals.
The concept of using animal organs in human beings is not a new one. On...
Pet Therapy A bus carrying several clinical students from the local college pulls up in front of the nursing home. The students begin to unload some boxes which contain puppies and kittens ranging in age from three to six months. Once inside, the students begin to pass the puppies and kittens out to the patients that are waiting expectantly in the recreation room. Some patients are alone, some are in groups, but all are delighted to see the animals arrive.
According to the California Biomedical Association, nearly every medical breakthrough in the last 100 years has resulted directly from research using animals (CBRA Fact Sheet: Why Are Animals Necessary in Biomedical Research?). Without animal testing, thousands of people continue dying because of diseases, which no longer exist thanks to Animal testing .Examples of that is the Polio vaccine and how his creator, Albert Sabin, said:"Without animal research, polio would still be claiming thousands of lives each year.”. The use of animals on research is essential to the development of new cures and a more effective method for diagnosis and treating diseases that affect humans as well as animals. It is a fact that some diseases and health problems involve processes that can only be studied in living organisms according to the same
Florence Nightingale, a founder of nursing philosophy, noted in her 1859 nursing notes that a small pet was an excellent companion for the sick, especially patients with chronic cases. Pet therapy is a therapeutic aid that supports medical cures and enhances the relational and emotional status of the sufferer. A Hypothesis propounded on by doctors S.R. Kellert and E.O. Wilson was “No one who looks at the evidence can doubt that animals in hand improve the quality of modern human life…” (sic). An indisputable study proved that a therapy dog can reduce the agitation behavior in institutionalized persons with the Alzheimer’s diseases. A study conducted at the University of California showed that having animals at nursing homes also gave animal care givers job satisfaction.
Pharmaceutical and medical research benefits humans greatly. Much of these life-saving developments are being conducted via animal experimentation. It is often said that animal testing should not be implemented, for it is not morally ideal or necessary. Opponents of animal testing urgently demand for alternative methods, which aim to replace the practice of animal studies. However, first and foremost, animal research saves lives. It is undeniable that animal-based experimentation has played a vital part in finding drugs and live-saving treatments to improve health and medicine. Animal studies also contributed to numerous medical advances over the last decade; these include surgical techniques and heart transplants. Not only curing diseases related to humans, animal testing also benefits animals correspondingly. By this, animal studies should only be carried out on behalf of medical purposes. Alternative methods should be applied if available; however, at the present time, science needs animal testing.
According to the American Physiological Society, scientist use animals to learn more about health problems that affect both humans and animals, and to assure the safety of new medical treatments. Animals are also used because they are biologically similar to humans and it is easier to control their diet, temperature and lighting. Animals are only used when it is impractical and unethical to use humans. With using animals,
Animals have played a major part in medical breakthroughs. Such as the development of anesthetics, which are the chemicals used to make you unconscious during an operation. . Before that surgery was little more than refined butchery. Amputations, removal of bladder stones, caesarean sections and others – were done with the conscious patient strapped to the operating table and screaming.
Animal research is further supported by the authors, as they describe the consequences that science would face if animal research was no longer used, stating that the “assessment of the safety and efficacy of new medications would be severely compromised” (Cline, Sanchez 2). While the authors do understand how animal research was important in the past, allowing scientists to develop and test life-changing medications, they fail to recognize the fact that as time goes on, science changes, and that there are alternatives to animal research even today, such as what I had mentioned earlier with cell cultures, as well as many others that are being tested all the time, and such that will continue on into the future. This will not only help the future of science, but it will also help the animals all over whose fates are decided by the hands of those who wish to end
Animal experimentation can be very useful for testing new products and finding new medical treatment’s to save people’s lives. Many people’s lives depend on the research done on the animals. If scientist did not experiment with animals many more people would lose their life (Derbyshire). Animals are used to test new medical treatments to see if they will be effective on humans. Animal experimentation has been very helpful in the medical field; it has been used to discover antibiotics, vaccines, blood transfusions, insulin, and anesthetics. Animals are a very vital part of medical research; without them is would be very difficult to discover new treatments (Franklin). Animals are also used to test new cosmetic products before they are used on humans. The last way animals are used for is genetic experiments to help scientist figure out how different genes work (“Animal Research”). Humans benefit a lot by using animals for experimentation. Without the animals it would be very difficult to find new medical and to save a lot of people’s lives.
There is always a special relationship between humans and animals, and some people will consider and treat their home animals as a part of their family members. In the recent decade, the animal experimentation plays a very significant role for biomedical research. Those animal experimentation allows scientists to do medical research on animals to develop new drugs for saving human life and preventing human suffering from diseases, and it also helps to ensure the safety of the drugs. Since some animal’s biological systems have a remarkable similarity with humans, it is tough to find an effective replacement for animal research. Although most of animal researches bring humans benefit, some people argue that animal research is torturing animals and violating animal rights and it should be banned. In fact, most of the alternative cannot provide accurate and correct information for the scientists, so animals should be allow use in scientific research.