ABSTRACT
Right from the start of world knowledge in January 1896 of Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen's discovery, small animals were used as test objects to illustrate 'the new light' and from the literature it would appear that the frog was the most popular choice. The 'radiographic zoo', the majority taken within five years of the discovery of X-rays, encompasses a wide variety of different animals, fish and birds which have been used as test objects or to illustrate radiographic publications. Elephants only have one further mention by the Rontgen Society: in 1930 a report under the heading of 'Radiographing an elephant'. This related to an animal on a rubber estate in Ceylon. The frog's foot used as a radiographic imaging test object by the Rontgen Society in 1900 for the award of a gold medal for 'the best practical X-ray tube'.
