Some History. The use of living beings with the idea of acquiring knowledge is not something new, it dates from quite distant times. In ancient Persia, kings allowed their doctors to experiment on men sentenced to death. The great da Vinci contributed to the knowledge of comparative anatomy in dogs and cats, but he predicted that one day animal experimentation would be judged a crime. Since anesthesia was not known at that time, an attempt was made to justify the suffering caused by arguing that this was necessary to acquire knowledge and on the other hand, accepting that animals did not feel, since they did not have a soul (?). Paying for this outrage, Thomas Aquinas (13th century) did not hesitate to burp: “they are wrong, they have no rights, therefore, human beings have no responsibilities towards them.” Worst impossible.
In the last century and part of the present, in the Medicine career, the student studied a subject called “Surgical Techniques in Animals”, in which, hypothetically, he acquired a series of skills that will enable him to perform various surgical maneuvers in humans. when the time comes to graduate as a Surgeon. The question that arises is, was that true? The sincere answer is a resounding no, nothing at all, this subject did not train the student for anything other than acquiring an aberrant vision of ethics and deontology. At present, surgical practices in animals only exist in the Faculties of Veterinary Medicine.
Recent knowledge regarding the ability of animals to be aware of their environment and feel pain, anxiety and fear oblige us to avoid, as far as possible, situations that cause them pathological stress, pain and discomfort. In 1959 Russel and Burch published “The Principles of Human Experimental Technique”, in which they propose something already universally accepted, the principle of the “3 R’s”: Replace, Reduce and Refine. By “replacing” is meant substituting animals with other methods such as computer models. “Reduce” refers to reducing the number of animals used in research, through careful planning. By “refining” is meant decreasing the frequency or severity of procedures to which the animals will be exposed. And all of the above applies perfectly to veterinary schools.
Numerous countries in both Europe and America have drawn up instructions that regulate the use of animals in experimentation. In Mexico, on June 28, 2001, the Official Mexican Standard NOM-062-ZOO-1999 was published in the Official Gazette of the Mexican Government: which, among other things, considers: “promoting the production, care and use of laboratory animals through the application of techniques aimed at guaranteeing production, protecting health and favoring the proper use of laboratory animals”. To further elaborate on the subject, the World Health Organization (WHO) published, in 1985, its “Principles for the use of experimental animals” which, among other things, states: Experiments on animals should be carried out only following due consideration of its relevance to human health and the advancement of knowledge. Animals must be treated conscientiously and minimizing stress and pain as ethical imperatives.
What were the arguments to support the supposed usefulness of surgical techniques in animals? On the website of a well-known University I find this fantasy: «Surgical techniques in animals, its objective: Integrate knowledge of pathophysiology and education and surgical technique in a living animal model, which allows you to acquire the necessary skills and abilities to treat first contact surgical patients and participate in major surgical procedures in their capacity as a general practitioner.
The foregoing is as false as a 15-peso bill, because the sad reality that any hospital surgeon has verified is that many of the students coming out of the 5th year of their degree hardly know how to mend a sock.
Does the slaughter of animals in medical schools help? Not at all, it is absolutely useless for the surgical training of students. Surgical skills can be learned and developed on simulators and 3D models to be further refined in surgical services under the personal supervision of surgeons.
This is the reality at present, it may not please some directors and some teachers, but that does not change anything. Students do not learn (and will not learn) surgery acting as dog killers. Let’s remember “In Medicine, all past times were worse”.
