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Earliest Records of Vivisection
Aristotle (c. 350 BC), who studied animal anatomy, argued that animals and “man” were similar in bodily structure, but that man, being a rationalanimal, was at the top of the hierarchy and the other existed for humans to use.
Though later Roman society was swayed by Aristotle’s argument, in their writings, Virgil, Ovid and Cicero show great compassion for animals, and the historians Seneca and Plutarch, both of whom are reported to be vegetarian, argued that man had a duty of kindness to humans and animals both.
Some of the earliest records of vivisection are found in the writings
of Galen of Pergamum (129-199), who catalogued the findings of the earlier Alexandrian physicians, including descriptions of functional differences between sensory and motor nerves. Galen himself described the complexities of the cardiopulmonary system and speculated on the functions of the brain and spinal cord. Even early scientists were aware that animals felt pain. Galen was noted to have said that he used pigs “…to avoid seeing the unpleasant expression of the ape…”