Animal Dissection

Dissecting a frog might be one of the most memorable school experiences for many students, whether they are enthusiastic participants, prefer lab time to lectures, or are conscientious objectors to dissection.

Early History of Animal Dissection

Descriptions of the dissection of live animals have been found in ancient Greek writings from as early as circa 500 BC. Physician-scientists such as Aristotle, Herophilus, and Erasistratus performed the experiments to discover the functions of living organisms. Vivisection (dissection of a living organism) was practiced on human criminals in Alexandria and ancient Rome, but ancient prohibitions and taboos against the mutilation of the human body led to a reliance on animal subjects. Aristotle believed that animals lacked intelligence, and so the notions of justice and injustice did not apply to them. Theophrastus, a successor to Aristotle, disagreed, objecting to the vivisection of animals on the grounds that, like humans, they can feel pain, and causing pain to animals was an affront to the gods. [29][30]

Roman physician and philosopher Galen (130–200 AD), whose theories of medicine were influential throughout Europe for 15 centuries, engaged in the public dissection of animals (including an elephant), which was a popular form of entertainment at the time. Galen also engaged in animal vivisection in order to develop theories on human anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. In one of his experiments, he demonstrated that arteries, which were believed by earlier physicians to contain air, actually contained blood. Galen believed that animal physiology was very similar to that of human beings, but despite this similarity he had little sympathy for the animals on which he experimented. Galen recommended that his students vivisect animals “without pity or compassion” and warned that the “unpleasing expression of the ape when it is being vivisected” was to be expected. [30][31][32]

French philosopher René Descartes (1596–1650), who occasionally experimented on live animals, including at least one rabbit, as well as eels and fish, believed that animals were “automata” who could not experience pain or suffer the way that humans do. Descartes recognized that animals could feel, but because they could not think, he argued, they were unable to consciously experience those feelings. [33][34]

English physician William Harvey (1578–1657) discovered that the heart, and not the lungs, circulated blood throughout the body as a result of his experiments on living animals. [35][36]

There was little public objection to animal experimentation until the 19th century, when the increased adoption of domestic pets fueled interest in an anti-vivisection movement, primarily in England. This trend culminated in the founding of the Society for the Protection of Animals Liable to Vivisection in 1875, followed by the formation of similar groups. [37][38]

Animal Dissection in Education

The use of animal dissection in education goes back as far as the 1500s, when Belgian doctor Andreas Vesalius used the practice as an instructional method for his medical students. One of the most significant physicians in history, Vesalius revolutionized the study of biology and the practice of medicine by his careful description of the anatomy of the human body. Based on his extensive dissection of human cadavers (dead bodies), he wrote and illustrated the first comprehensive textbook of anatomy; the famed work—De humani corporis fabrica libri septem (“On the Fabric of the Human Body in Seven Books”), commonly known as the Fabrica—was printed in 1543.[1][39]

Animal dissections became part of American K–12 school curricula in the 1920s. About 75–80% of North American students will have dissected an animal by the time they graduate high school. More than 12 million animals are dissected in American schools each year. In at least 21 states and D.C., K–12 students have the legal option to request an alternative assignment to animal dissection. [2][3][27][40]

While frogs are the most common animals for U.S. students to dissect, students may also dissect fetal pigs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, minks, birds, turtles, snakes, crayfish, perch, sea stars, and earthworms as well as grasshoppers and other insects. Sometimes students dissect parts of animals, such as sheep lungs, cow eyes, and bull testicles. [2]

So, are animal dissections in K–12 schools crucial learning opportunities that encourage science careers and make good use of dead animals? Or are animal dissections unnecessary experiments that promote environmental damage when ethical alternatives exist? Explore the debate below.

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Discussion Questions

1. Several cultures, including those of many Native American tribes [24], consider animal dissection to be taboo. Consider animal dissection as a cultural matter. Which communities disagree with animal dissection for cultural or religious reasons? What is their reasoning? How can schools accommodate these cultural views while promoting STEM studies and careers to the communities? Explain your answers.
2. ProCon has listed three pros and three cons above. What other pros and cons can you list? Brainstorm a list and then choose one pro or con to research and write a sourced and cited paragraph to support.
3. Have you had to (or will you have to) dissect an animal for science class in school? What are your thoughts? Will you perform the dissection or ask for an alternative assignment? Explain your answers.
4. Biological supply companies often use formaldehyde to preserve animals for dissection. According to Ken Roy, writing for the National Science Teaching Association, formaldehyde is “a known nasal and dermal carcinogen” and can cause allergy-related symptoms. Roy cautions, “No specimens that are preserved in formaldehyde should be used in middle school science!” [25] What safety precautions should be taken if animals preserved in formaldehyde are used in high -school or college classrooms? Should animals be preserved in another way? Explain your answers.
5. Could using technology to simulate animal dissections contribute to digital addiction? Explain your answer.