Bryant I. Vivisection: a chapter in the sociology of Victorian science. Ethics Sci Med.1977;4(1-2):75-86

PMID: 328271

Abstract

This paper examines the ethical controversy surrounding the practice of live animal experimentation in the years 1871-1900, a critical period for the establishment o1' physiology in Britain. In the hostile climate engendered by anti-vivisectionist agitation, physiologists and medical scientists were called upon to publicly defend their research methods. Their published views are subjected to a content analysis which provides empirical evidence of the nature of ethical conflict in science. Sociological implications are drawn concerning the institutionalisation of science in adverse social circumstances.