At the end of the 19th century, malaria was believed to be contracted through inhalation of dirty water. Several biologists, Manson, Koch, King and Lavern, separately developed the theory that malaria may be caused by mosquito bites.

Fifty years before an anaesthetic was used in patients, Humphrey Davy had demonstrated that nitrous oxide produced a reversible state of unconsciousness in animals. He subsequently inhaled the gas himself, noting on one occasion that the gas relieved toothache.

Experiments on cholera immuno-serum in guinea-pigs showed that unlike previous sera, it did not affect bacterial toxins, but provided immunity by preventing the bacteria from moving and growing. This was termed bacteriolytic immunity. As with anti-toxic immunity, animals could gain immunity through injection with the blood of an immunised animal.

The first vaccine was famously developed by the physician Edward Jenner in 1796. He had noticed that milk-maids had unusually smooth skin, and realised that they were not scarred by smallpox scars.

Rabies is a very serious viral infection that targets the brain and nervous system. It is spread by animals to humans. Once the symptoms of rabies have developed, the condition is almost always fatal.

Plague is an acute bacterial infection caused by the organism Yersinia pestis. Natural infection occurs in a range of mammalian species including rodents, cats and other carnivores, and humans.

Animal research model used: dogs

Rickets is a condition that affects bone development in children. It causes the bones to become soft and malformed, which can lead to bone deformities.

Animal research model used: guinea pigs

Axel Holst and Theodor Frølich, two Norwegian physicians studying shipboard beriberi in the Norwegian fishing fleet, wanted a small test mammal to substitute for the pigeons then used in beriberi research. They fed guinea pigs their test diet of grains and flour, which had earlier produced beriberi in their pigeons, and were surprised when classic scurvy resulted instead.

Animal research model used: rats, rabbits, dogs, cats, monkeys

The most widely used modern intravenous anaesthetic is thiopentone sodium. Effective doses of this barbiturate were established by researchers at the University of Wisconsin, working with rats, rabbits and dogs.

Animal research model used: rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, dogs

Blood clotting (coagulation) disturbs blood flow, and is essential to stop bleeding after a cut. But clotting in the wrong place can lead to deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, heart attacks and strokes. Anticoagulants are used to prevent or treat these.

Animal research model used: guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs, monkeys

The first practical demonstration of this process, known as continuous dialysis of blood was by John Abel in 1914, using anaesthetised rabbits and dogs and dialysis membranes made from treated parchment.

Animal research model used: mice, monkeys

In 1908, Dr Karl Landsteiner and Dr Erwin Popper used extracts from the spinal cord of a boy who had died from polio to replicate the disease in monkeys.

Animal research model used: dogs

Wilson Greatbatch, an American electrical engineer, invented the first implantable cardiac pacemaker, in 1958. He also invented pacemaker batteries, which were essential to its function.

Animal research model used: rats, rabbits, monkeys

First synthesized on December 11, 1950, chlorpromazine was the first drug developed with specific antipsychotic action.

Animal research model used: monkeys

Rubella (also known as German measles) is a viral infection that used to be common in children. Rubella is usually a mild infection

Animal research model used: pigs

A CT scan uses X-rays and a computer to create detailed images of the inside of your body.

Animal research model used: cats, dogs

Migraine is a disorder usually involving headaches, which can be debilitating, and affects around six million people in the UK.

Animal research model used: rodents, cattle

Onchocerca is a parasitic worm that harms 6.5m people in Africa and South America, blinding many of them. The real cause might be the Wolbachia bacteria that live on the worm. Mice infected with extracts from antibiotic-treated worms showed significantly less thickening and haze of the eye’s cornea.

Animal research model used: many species

First reported in 1981, AIDS was quickly shown to be a mysterious epidemic which spread with no known cause. Scientists thought a retrovirus could be the infectious agent.

Animal research model used: mice, monkeys

First reported in 1981, AIDS was quickly shown to be a mysterious epidemic which spread with no known cause. An extensive population study the following year suggested that the epidemic had already spread globally..

Animal research model used: mice, rats, dogs

More than 42,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year in the UK, making it the most common cancer in women after non-melanoma skin cancer. Animal studies contributed to the development of tamoxifen, one of the most successful treatments.

Animal research model used: rabbits

Statins are cholesterol-lowering medicines. They may be used to treat: hypercholesterolaemia, a high level of cholesterol in the blood. Statins may also be used to reduce your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

Animal research model used: rabbits, cattle

In 1888 Pierre Roux and Alexandre Yersin showed that the liquid in which the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae had been grown caused diphtheria, by injecting it into guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs, cats and horses

Animal research model used: mice, rats

The most widely used modern intravenous anaesthetic is thiopentone sodium. Effective doses of this barbiturate were established by researchers at the University of Wisconsin, working with rats, rabbits and dogs.

Animal research model used: mice

Blood clotting (coagulation) disturbs blood flow, and is essential to stop bleeding after a cut. But clotting in the wrong place can lead to deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, heart attacks and strokes. Anticoagulants are used to prevent or treat these.

Animal research model used: rabbits

A cornea transplant is an operation used to remove all or part of a damaged cornea and replace it with healthy cornea tissue from the eye of a suitable donor.

Animal research model used: dogs, guinea pigs, rabbits

Blood transfusion has saved the lives of countless people and animals. The technique was developed when treated blood was shown to be safe for transfusion in dogs in 1914.

Animal research model used: horses, guinea pigs

Tetanus vaccine allows your body to create antibodies against the tetanus toxin (tetanospasmin). This protects you from the illness if you are exposed to the Clostridium tetani bacterium in the future.

Animal research model used: mice

Florey and Chain first tested the effects of penicillin in mice in 1940. By 1941, penicillin was being used to treat dying soldiers. This research won the Nobel Prize in 1945.

Animal research model used: mice, rabbits

In 1931, before vaccination, a standard textbook of bacteriology stated that whooping cough “may be looked upon as one of the major causes of death in civilised countries”. At this time it was responsible for 1.3rd of all deaths in England and Wales.

Animal research model used: dogs, sheep, goats

A hip replacement is a common type of surgery where a damaged hip joint is replaced with an artificial one (known as prosthesis).

Animal research model used: rats, mice, dogs

Research into Brazilian pit viper venom produced the first in a new class of medicines to lower blood pressure – angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.

Animal research model used: dogs

The first human-to-human heart transplant in 1967 by Professor Christiaan Barnard in South Africa was big news. Few people knew that the operation was the culmination of more than 60 years of preparatory animal research.

Animal research model used: monkeys

MMR is the combined vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella. Since the vaccine was introduced in 1988, the number of children who develop these conditions has fallen to an all-time low.

Animal research model used: mice

Leukaemia is a group of cancers which affect the white blood cells. In the early 1970s, research using mice found that it is vital to destroy all malignant cells in order to get rid of the cancer.

Animal research model used: rabbits, pigs

US Chemist Paul Lauterbur was present during early analysis of dissected rat tissue by NMR, and felt that it should be possible to study a whole animal in a non-invasive way. Early in the 1970s he generated a two-dimensional image.

Animal research model used: monkeys

In 1870, infant death rates reached their peak, with almost one in four babies dying at birth. This appalling level triggered the first attempts to use incubators to help premature babies.

Animal research model used: mice, rabbits, dogs, monkeys

In 1916 Little and Tyzzer also showed that tumours transplanted from one mouse to another of the same strain were not rejected, but mice of a different strain would reject them.

Animal research model used: mice

Vaccines for several types of meningitis have been developed in mice and have resulted in a huge fall in the disease. Previously many victims died or had amputations or organ damage.

Animal research model used: mice

Diabetes cannot be cured, but treatment aims to keep your blood glucose level as normal as possible and to control your symptoms to prevent health problems developing later in life.

Animal research model used: monkeys

The most widely used modern intravenous anaesthetic is thiopentone sodium. Effective doses of this barbiturate were established by researchers at the University of Wisconsin, working with rats, rabbits and dogs.

Animal research model used: goats

Blood clotting (coagulation) disturbs blood flow, and is essential to stop bleeding after a cut. But clotting in the wrong place can lead to deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, heart attacks and strokes. Anticoagulants are used to prevent or treat these.

Animal research model used: mice

Tetanus vaccine allows your body to create antibodies against the tetanus toxin (tetanospasmin). This protects you from the illness if you are exposed to the Clostridium tetani bacterium in the future.

Animal research model used: mice

Immunotherapy targeting beta-amyloid can clear plaque in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. Clinical studies have shown promise, but with some severe side effects arising from inflammation.