research”canalsobeusedtocoverresearchthatismotivated
by a general intellectual curiosity. Such curiosity may be
acceptableaspartofa basicsearchforknowledgewhenit
involvesnosuffering,butshouldnotbetoleratedifitcauses
pain.Veryoften,too,basicmedicalresearchhasbeengoing
onfordecadesandmuchofit,inthelongrun,turnsoutto
have been quite pointless. As an illustration, consider the
following series of experiments stretching back nearly a
century, on the effects of heat on animals:
In 1880 H.C.Woodplaced anumberofanimalsin boxes
withglasslidsandplacedtheboxesonabrickpavementona
hotday.Heusedrabbits,pigeons,andcats.Hisobservations
on arabbit aretypical.At a temperature of109.5 degrees
Fahrenheittherabbitjumpsand“kickshindlegs withgreat
fury.”Therabbitthenhasaconvulsiveattack.At 112 degrees
Fahrenheit the animal lies on its side slobbering. At 120
degreesFahrenheititisgaspingandsquealingweakly.Soon
after it dies.^76
In 1881 areportappearedinTheLancetondogsandrabbits
whose temperatures had been raised to 113 degrees
Fahrenheit. It wasfound thatdeath couldbe prevented by
coolaircurrents,and theresultswere saidtoindicate “the
importanceofkeepingdownthetemperatureinthosecasesin
which it exhibits a tendency to rise to [an] extreme height.”^77
In 1927 W.W.HallandE.G.WakefieldoftheU.S.Naval
MedicalSchoolplacedtendogsinahothumidchamberto
produceexperimental heatstroke. Theanimals first showed
restlessness,breathingdifficulties,swellingandcongestionof
theeyes,andthirst.Somehadconvulsions.Somediedearly