animals used there have been many medical
             advances; virtually every medical break through this century has come about
             as the result of research with animals. (Office of Technology)
             Of the many animals used for experiments, about 90 percent of the animals
             used are rats, mice and other rodents. Animals such as these are used for
             two reasons, one because they are readily available upon request, and two
             because they are cheap which helps aid the large cost of animals
             experimentation. Although it has been proven, that in many cases, rats and
             mice are not an accurate subject to test medicines on; their popularity has
             only grown larger. Mechanize (a travel sickness drug) caused severe
             deformities in rats, but not in humans, whereas Thalidomide (a sedative
             drug) caused no reaction in rats but cause deformities in humans. This is
             only one of the many cases where mice and rats have been found as faulty
             With the wide range of animals that are available, the tests the are used on
             them are even vaster. The tests are broken down into many different
             categories, which allows scientists to zero in on certain areas of testing
             and to specify results. The largest and most useful area of testing is
             called Toxicity Testing. In toxicity tests, animals are generally exposed to
             chemicals in ways that are meant to mimic human exposure, by ingestion,
             inhalation, skin contact and contact with the eyes. The type of animals
             used in this field include rodents, dogs, cats, fish, birds (chickens, hens,
             pigeons) rabbits, frogs, pigs, sheep, and primates. Toxicity testing is
             aimed at providing information, which can be used to attempt to protect
             society and the environment against the harmful effects of chemicals. (Boyd,
             Eye irritancy tests, the largest and most controversial area in toxcity
             testing, began in 1920. It was introduced because soldiers were exposed to
             mustard gas in World ...