Animal testing has played a pivotal role in the development of modern medical treatments, and it will continually be needed for scientists; as they use it to alleviate existing ailments, respond to the emergence of new diseases, and also advance scientific knowledge. There is no denying that animal experimentation has contributed vitally over the last 50 years to major medical advances. It has saved millions of lives and without it; many of the medicine we have today would not have been developed and made widely available to consumers. Animal testing has been influential in the prevention and the treatment of many illnesses, for example the use of penicillin and insulin. In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, the first of the modern …show more content…
The use of the mice in this experiment helped in identifying treatments for humans. Even though humans need 3,000 times more penicillin treatment than mice , this animal experimentation has revolutionized the ability to treat bacterial infections; which are a major cause of death. This simple animal test led directly to the saving of millions of lives, both humans and animals. Numerous innovations have brought change, but not as spontaneous and improvement of lives as much as insulin has, which was discovered by Paul Langerhans in 1869. In early 1921, Dr. Fredrick Banting and John Macleod conducted an animal experiment, in which they removed the pancreas from a dog. The removed pancreas was ground up and filtered, the isolated solution was insulin. The solution (insulin) was administered to diabetic dogs. After the treatment, blood glucose levels decreased the dogs seemed to be healthier and free of diabetic symptoms . From then on, insulin has been a diabetic treatment, which affects one in four Canadians . The use of the dogs in the experiment was because insulin is common to many animal species; the insulin is carried in the blood , which is why live animals were needed in this