The Journal of Urology V0l.
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Anr� 1, 1950 .. v,\..£.S DENISON � e,V.r I ,rr_ (, <., UNIVERSITY Of • o � Si;HOOL Of COLORADO • \ MEDICIME � � Af[MOR' .' L l \'3\\.r,..� /ADVANCES
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UROLO,}Y ... .'..\D:S POS:HELE BY ANil.J-\.L ::::VER.I:·:�l·TTATION D. F. :.lcDONALDFro;n the Depart.nent of Surgery of the University of V,ashington, Seattle, 1'!ash5·,.,_:;ton
It is the aL1 of all rec:earch to describe and explain natural phenomena and then to formulate and predi�t thei� occurrence. It is �1e special aim
of ,neJical research to :Jetter the lot of the human race.
Animal
experi;nenta tion srn�ves :nanl:ind rell by saving the lives of humans who would otherwise besubjected to untried :ned:..cation or surgical practices, anc. furthers a necessarily cold al)i.rcach to unsolved problems which, were hur,1ans the only subjects, would be entirely unwarranted.
Animal experimentation provides several avem1es of benefit to man, the development of nc,, sur�ical techni::i_ues, the testing of new drugs, the biological assay for standardization of drugs and for diagnosis, an:1 the training of
st:1dent8 and surieo.1.s. And to the ani:rrals themselves, certain benefits t-ave accruel, notable, vaccines -"or the nrevention of disease and seruLs, sulfonamides and penicillin for their treat�:i.ent.
In uroloGY the tre,11endous :i:-r:_)rovem::mt i.n pre- an1 postoperative care has
rr.ale it possible to extend the benefits of i:aprm.rcd urological diagnosis and
SUJ',;er--.t to increasin�� munbers of patients. But upon what does this improYed care and su.r:;ory ,:epend? It depends upon a vast number of individual
proble_ns, each one of 1'/hich involved the use of animal experimentation. We
no,1 are able to t:rec..,t the diabetic with insulin and the patient with pernidous
an<;�r..j a with liver extract thanks to the researches of Dantin::; and Best and
·.1.ni�ple and Robschei t-H.obbins ( 1925) on doe;s. We are able to treat existing
Page Two
A.dvances in Urology - Ani'!lal Exper:L:1entation
indicated, thanks to hTu.'ldreds of animal exper:L111ents by Domagk, .?lemL"lg, and
-�."aksman. No loneer must surgical blood loss be feared. Adequate replacement
tLer:i.py with citrated whole blood is now an established pract.:.ce based on. the
smmd +-·ooting of competent animal researches of Rueck in rabbits and Batch
and Little in humans.
:i:t is indeed inspirin:-:: to follow the course o.f animal experimentation. • I Aristotle knev; and described eunuchoidism but no nrogress was ma.de in an
understand:..ng of endocrine relationships unt: 1 controll,ed animal exper:L11entation vm.:o arrjlied to
the
problem. Boyin and Ancel discovered that the masculinizing activity of U�3 ma1:t:1alian testis was independent of its spermatogcnic function by exp::ril:,ental studies o:' surgical cryptorchidism in animals. Ivioore and�uick vre�:e able to show that SPrr.-iniferous atrophy was c1J1.e to the increased ternperat'1re in the cr;yptorchi::i testis. Snith and Engel demonstr:i.ted that the seminiferous tubules were also und.�r hypophyseal control by their work
-,,-ith pituitary extracts in hypophysectomized rats. Until Gal1a:::;her and Koch
,...
perfected their technique of quantitative assay of androgens in the capon, no real pro;.;ress in isolati ·n of andro:;ens vras nade. Just
4
years later,:Sutenandt vras able to isolate, crystallize and determine the structural forr:mla of 1.c1drosterone. fruzika ·vas then able to synthesize androsterone and later
testosterone.
Our understanding of the formation of urine and renal physiology has
rested almost er.tirely upon a�imal studies, notably those of Richards,
Smith, Addis, and True ta. v;e ha.re come to know :nore about the neurophysiology
of micturation through the animal researches of De0s and LangiNorthy, Barrington,
Denny-Brovm and Robertson. One form of calculus disease has been clarified
and prophylactic therapy discovered by the researches of Osborne and Mendel on vitamin A deficient rats.
