ABSTRAC

In the history of biological sciences it has documented a vast amount of scientific

events that indicate the importance that it has been the animal experimentation in the
advancement of the science. In ancient times the curiosity of man to know the nature
environment and the phenomena of life led him to make the first vivisections in
different life forms, including the human specie, although the observation and
description of various biological phenomena in animals, preceded this fact. Centuries
later, the interest for to elucidate how and why diseases were emerged, and the need of
control the epidemics that affecting human populations and the economy, promoted
the development of the animal experimentation. Today it is accepted that the great
scientific advances in genetic, endocrinology, biology of reproduction, cancer and
immunology are the result of studies realized with animals of experimentation. This
review provides an overview of major events in the history of science of the animal
research.

Key words: history, experimentation with animals, animal models.