| Era | Role of Animal Experimentation in Medicine | Social Background |
| Neolithic Age |
Medicine in Mesopotamia The Sumerians recorded medicines in cuneiform on clay tablets. Because diseases were believed to be related to gods, shamans performed treatments. |
Appearance of the ancestors of modern humans Hunter-gatherer life (20,000 years ago) Development of pastoralism and agriculture, beginning of civilization (Neolithic Age) |
| Ancient Egyptian Dynasties |
Diseases were still considered supernatural. Treatments were magical in nature. Ancient Egyptian medical text (Papyrus Ebers) |
Domestication of cats (3000 BC) |
| Greek and Roman Era |
Greek Medicine Diseases were regarded as natural phenomena and studied scientifically. Hippokrates (460–377 BC) Aristotle (384–322 BC) Erasistratos (around 290 BC) Galenos (131–201) |
Hunting shows at the Colosseum Official recognition of Christianity (313) Great Migration of the Germanic peoples Fall of the Western Roman Empire (476) |
| Middle Ages |
Dark Age of Medicine (4th–15th century) Greek science and medicine transferred to the Islamic world Dissection was prohibited under Christian influence. The human body was regarded as sacred, bestowed by God. Disease was considered divine punishment, and people only prayed to God. Thomas Aquinas “Summa Theologica” (around 1274) |
Muhammad founded Islam (early 7th century) Crusades (1096–1270) Black Death pandemic (around 1350) Fall of the Eastern Roman Empire (around 1453) |
| Early Modern Period |
Medicine of the Renaissance Human dissection and animal experimentation began to reveal physiological functions. Vesalius (Belgium), “On the Structure of the Human Body” (1543) Janssen (Netherlands), invention of the microscope (1590) Harvey (England), “Theory of Blood Circulation” (1628) |
Renaissance Columbus discovers the New World (1492) Accession of Queen Elizabeth I (1558) Witch hunts, Bull-baiting, bear-baiting
Edict on Compassion for Living Things (Japan) (1687)
Rise of early modern philosophy
|
