How far such statements are from the truth will be evident to those who peruse this book. Its earlier pages deal with Physiology, the main basis of all sound medicine and surgery. The examples given in this department are not numerous; they are, however, sufficiently striking, as indications that, from the discovery of the circulation of the blood onwards, our knowledge of healthy animal function has been mainly derived from experiments on animals.
The chief bulk of the work is devoted to the class of investigations which are most frequent at the present day; and it shows what a flood of light has been already thrown by Bacteriology upon the nature of human disease and the means of combating it.
The chapter on the Action of Drugs will be to many a startling disclosure of the gross ignorance that prevailed among physicians even in the earlier part of last century. The great revolution that has since taken place is no doubt largely due to advances in sciences other than Biology, especially Chemistry. But it could not have attained its present proportions without the ever-increasing knowledge of Physiology, based on experiments on animals; and Mr. Paget shows how large a share these have had in the direct investigation of articles of the Materia Medica.
The concluding part of the volume discusses the restrictions which have been placed by the legislature in this country on those engaged in these researches, with the view of obviating possible abuse. Whether the Act in question has been really useful, whether it has not done more harm than good, by hampering and sometimes entirely preventing legitimate and beneficent investigation, I will not now discuss.
Meanwhile I commend Mr. Paget's book to the careful consideration of the reader.
LISTER.
CONTENTS
| PART I EXPERIMENTS IN PHYSIOLOGY | ||
|---|---|---|
| PAGE | ||
| I. | The Blood | [3] |
| II. | The Lacteals | [19] |
| III. | The Gastric Juice | [24] |
| IV. | Glycogen | [30] |
| V. | The Pancreas | [36] |
| VI. | The Growth of Bone | [40] |
| VII. | The Nervous System | [44] |
| PART II EXPERIMENTS IN PATHOLOGY, MATERIA MEDICA, AND THERAPEUTICS | ||
| I. | Inflammation, Suppuration, and Blood-Poisoning | [75] |
| II. | Anthrax | [87] |
| III. | Tubercle | [96] |
| IV. | Diphtheria | [102] |
| V. | Tetanus | [128] |
| VI. | Rabies | [137] |
| VII. | Cholera | [152] |
| VIII. | Plague | [168] |
| IX. | Typhoid Fever; Malta Fever | [196] |
| X. | The Mosquito: Malaria, Yellow Fever, Filariasis | [214] |
| XI. | Parasitic Diseases | [243] |
| XII. | Myxœdema | [247] |
| XIII. | The Action of Drugs | [251] |
| XIV. | Snake-Venom | [259] |
| PART III THE ACT RELATING TO EXPERIMENTS ON ANIMALS IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND | ||
| I. | Text of the Act | [271] |
| II. | Anæsthetics under the Act | [281] |
| III. | Inspectors' Report, 1905 | [283] |
| PART IV THE CASE AGAINST ANTI-VIVISECTION | ||
| I. | Anti-Vivisection Societies | [297] |
| II. | Literature | [313] |
| III. | Arguments | [325] |
| IV. | "Our Cause in Parliament" | [367] |
| V. | A Historical Parallel | [371] |
| INDEX | [377] | |