ABSTRACT
Since the beginning of scientific medical research, animal experiments have played a decisive role in detecting and treating diseases. Mention should be made of Landsteiner’s detection of the blood groups and the importance of rhesus monkeys in the blood typing of subgroups. In recent times, mention must be made of experiments in rats. These were designed for the induction of a disease pattern similar to Morbus Parkinson, by means of reserpine, and for the extrapolation of the experimental results to man, since these experiments initiated the detection and investigation of dopamine. The extrapolation of results obtained in animal experiments to human circumstances is possible and permissible in a qualitative respect. According to known epidemiological, medical, and experimental data obtained in man and animals, there remains hardly any justified doubt that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons may be papilloma-inducing and even carcinogenic in human skin.
