Greeks and Romans are the first known people to conduct animal studies. A famous early animal experimenter was Galen, a Greek anatomist and physician. Early animal experimentations were primitive, by our standards today.

Developing many major medical advancements has not involved animal testing, at all. Among these are anesthesia; bacteriology; germ theory; morphine; radium; penicillin; antiseptics; the CAT, MRI and PET scans; the discovery of the relationship between cholesterol and heart disease; the development of x-rays; and the isolation of the virus that causes AIDS ("Vivisection").

This false sense of safety, based solely on animal testing is shown by a recent report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In this report it is calculated that more than 106,000 Americans were killed in 1998 from prescription and over-the-counter drug interactions (which did not include prescribing errors or drug abuse.) It went on to report 2.1 million United States citizens were seriously injured. This article found that such reactions rank at least fifth among causes of death in the United States - behind heart disease, cancer, lung disease, and strokes. All of these drugs were deemed safe by animal testing. ("American").

Other companies have also developed ways to eliminate the use of animals in testing. Scientists at Physiome Sciences have now built "virtual organs" to predict how medicines will be absorbed and metabolized. This will allow corporations to test the effects of their substance before prescribing it to a person ("Physiome"). Another technical advancement is Corrositex. It is a synthetic skin that accurately predicts the effects of corrosive material on human skin. In the Netherlands work has been completed at Microsurgical Developments to develop a realistic PVC "rat" with latex veins, organs, skin and muscle, for practicing microsurgery ("People"). This computer technology makes it unnecessary for animal testing to continue

As time progressed, it became taboo to test on either humans or animals. People in the thirteenth-century believed that they had no right to intervene with diseases, which were understood to be God's wrath. The clergy said anyone, man or beast, who had a disease must 'let His will be done.' This world view caused priests to oppose all scientific experimentation including vivisection of animals and humans. When the church made it illegal and punishable by death if anyone dissected a cadaver, the church and the scientific community separated. Thereafter physicians, artists, and sculptors who wanted to chart human anatomy were forced to work secretly and in fear of death. This threat of death for human experimentors prompted doctors to turn to animals for their experiments to cure diseases (McCoy, 17).

Instead of testing on animals in vitro testing offers a humane alternative with wonderful benefits. In vitro is studying a substance (normally human tissue or cells) in a tube. First, in vitro testing is faster, because results are not delayed by waiting throughout an animals entire life. Second, the time also saves money spent on research. In vitro test results are also more reliable, since the drugs have been tested on actual human tissue rather than on animals.

For instance, from his research of over fifty different species, Aristotle concluded that

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