Most biomedical research involves mice and other rodents. Their small size and low cost makes them ideal for laboratory experiments. In addition, scientists can breed different strains with natural genetic deficiencies to achieve specific models of human diseases. However, a variety of other animals are occasionally used as well.
Below is a list of animals used in research, and some of the types of research they have been used in.
Armadillo 
Cats
- AIDS
- Vision disorders such as amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (crossed eyes), glaucoma, and cataracts
- Studies on the spinal cord and other types of research involving the nervous system
- Recovery from traumatic injuries and strokes
- Gangliosidosis, a disorder that causes skeletal abnormalities and mental retardation in humans
- Hearing disorders 
- Improved animal surgical procedures and new vaccines to prevent animal diseases
Cattle and Swine
- Smallpox vaccine
- Organ transplants
- Diabetes
- Development of computer-assisted tomography (CAT) scan
- Heart disease and circulation 
- Arthritis and osteoporosis
- Cure for hand, foot and mouth disease
- Cure for hog cholera
- The healing process of burn victims
Chinchillas 
- Middle ear infection
Dogs
- Cardiovascular system
- CPR techniques
- Vision disorders such as glaucoma and cataracts
- Digestion research
- Therapeutic use of insuli
- Suture and grafting of blood vessels
- Respiratory system
- Anemia
- Creation of the heart-lung machine
- Pacemaker implantation
- Organ transplants
- Surgery to replace hips and other joints
- Lou Gehrig’s disease
- Diabetes
- Dental care
- Canine vaccines for rabies
- Treatment of post-shock conditions
Electric eels
- Neurobiological studies 
Ferrets
- Influenza (the flu)
Frogs, Fish, Reptiles, and Birds
- Tetanus vaccine
- Malaria
- Cure for beriberi 
- Use of ether as an anesthetic
- Edema treatment
- Importance of vitamins A, C, and D
- Cell chemistry
- Neurobiological studies
- Liver cancer
- Diabetes
- Coronary heart disease 
Guinea pigs
- Nutritional studies
- Vitamin C deficiency
Lobsters
- Syphilis
- Parkinson’s disease 
- Huntington’s Chorea
- All motor coordination diseases
Nonhuman Primates
- Vaccines for polio, rubella, Hepatitis B
- Cure for yellow fever
- Discovery of Rhesus (Rh) factor in blood
- Treatment of Parkinson’s symptoms 
- Studies on AIDS, measles, and malaria
- Removal of retinal scar tissue
- Effects of pollution on infants
- Development of dietary supplements to treat atherosclerosis
- Development of artificial blood vessels to bypass or replace blocked arteries
- Down syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, and mental retardation
- Liver disease, drug abuse, and obesity
- Taurine deficiency, which causes vision problems, and zinc deficiency, which causes growth retardation in infants and fetuses
- Multiple sclerosis and restoring muscle function to paralyzed limbs
- Bone marrow cancer, and treatment and prevention of colon cancer
Opossums 
- Studies of the esophagus
Rabbits
- Middle and inner ear infections
- Entropion, a condition in which the eyelashes are turned inward
- Glaucoma
- Corneal transplants
- Drug metabolism research 
- Rabies vaccine
- First cataract surgery
- Link between viruses and cancer
- Chemotherapy
- Cholesterol studies
- Effects of aging
- Muscular disease
- Product safety testing
Rats, Mice, and Other Rodents
- Vaccines for diphtheria, typhoid fever, polio, measles, influenza (the flu), rabies, and yellow fever
- Aging and Alzheimer’s disease
- Cancer and nutrition
- Kidney disease
- Bone research
- Skin transplantation
- Penicillin as an antibiotic
- Regulation of cholesterol
- Hormonal and gene therapy treatments for cancer
- Breast cancer
- AIDS
- Product safety for long-term use, pregnant women, and nursing babies
- Fertility treatments 
Sheep
Woodchucks
- Human liver cancer
- Hepatitis B 
