ABSTRACT
The history of clinical trials perhaps goes back as far as biblical times, as described in Daniel 1:11-16: “Then Daniel said to the stewardwhom the chief of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, ‘Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s rich food be observed by you, and according to what you see deal with your servants.’ So he hearkened in this matter, and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s rich food. So the steward took away their rich food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables” (Daniel 1:11-16; The Holy Bible, 1962) Rudimentary, but some principles of clinical trials are recognizable.
