The New York herald., 1879-09-25
VIVISECTION.
PROTESTING AGAINST MR.. BERGH's DENuNcI-
ATIoNs-THE VALUE OF EXPERIMENTS ON
LIVING ANIMALS INSISTED ON BIZ MEDICAL

PROTESTING AGAINST MR.. BERGH's DENuNCI-
ATIoNs-THE VALUE OF EXPERIMENTS ON
LIVING ANIMALS INSISTED ON BIZ MEDICAL
EXPERTS.
To THE EDITOR OF THE HEBALD:--
Your Sunday issue contains letter to His Honor
tho Mayor from Mr.. Borgh on vvisection. II is evil
dent from the tenor of the letter referred to that
Mr.. Bergh does not consider that vivisection is u
means by which any valuable information can be
obtained. brief review of some of the discoveries
which have been made for the beneit of human life
by this means will doubtless prove of interest to
your readers. who are not, probably. familiar
with them. In about the year 15O of the
Christian Era Galen made very valu
able Investigations. He proved by num-
Der of experiments dogs that the idea
then entertained with respect to tho arteries
was entirely erroneous. 1t was originally thought
that the arteries tubes for distributing the air
received by the lungs, instead OF tubes through
which blood circulated. Galen exposed artery Of
living animal and including portion OF it between
two ligatures placed certain distance apart. He
then opened it between the ligatures and it dis
charged blood instead OF air. Harvey in 1928 dscov
cred the circulation of the blood experiments con-
Quoted on living animals and Richard Lower in 1865
took advantage Of this discovery and showed the pos
sbility OF the TRANSMISSION of blood from animal
to another. These experiments were afterward fully
elaborated by DIR. Blendel in 1924.
Robert Boyle in 1910 demonstrated that atmos-
pheric air is absolutely necessary tor the mainte-
nance of life, also that the air must be pure he
arrived at these valuable results by experimenting
animals. Lavosier, in 1777, proved, by expert
mentng sparrows, that the sustaining element,
could be removed from air by the cacination OF
mercury. He also proved that while oxygen OF
the mir was absorbed carbonic acid exhaled in
the process OF respiration. By experiment the
nervous system of animals all our knowledge OF the
nerves have been derived. Numerous other cases
may be cited where vivisection has proved most
valuable-in fact, NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. more sgnih-
cant than the introduction Of gastric fstuas to
study the action of the gastric juice in the process
of digestion. In fact, nearly all that ia known in
physiology has been obtained by experiments
living animals. 1t seems, therefore. pretty late
for any one. from some poetical motive.
to prevent this of obtaining valu-
able information The theoretical excuse that
therefore natural physical action cannot be studied
is too absurd to answer for no experimenter would
claim normal results from abnormal conditions.
In the case of the gastric tstula the dissecting
table is simply used for the introduction OF the
canula and in days the animal is perfectly well
from tho stomach Is perfectly normal one.
Animals have been known to live four years
with gastric fstulas in them, and there is
reason why they should not live az long their
natural lite will admit. am most decidedly against
cruelty to animals but cannot look upon vivisection
cruelty when 1t has for its object the solving
grand problem Of life which will be to the ben
little reed bird for the qualification OF ones taste,
certainly not his appetite. rs far more cruel and
called for than the dissection OF animal under the
influence of ether chloroform for some good
SEPT 81. 1879. HENRY A. MOTT. Jn.. Phi. D.