Rabbit test

A historical pregnancy test using rabbits

Rabbit test
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Purpose	Pregnancy test
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The rabbit test was an early form of bioassay for the detection of pregnancy in humans. It was developed in the 1920s and became widely used in the 1930s and 1940s. The test involved injecting a woman's urine into a female rabbit and later examining the rabbit's ovaries for changes that would indicate pregnancy.

History

The rabbit test was based on the discovery that the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which is present in the urine of pregnant women, could induce changes in the ovaries of certain animals. In 1927, German scientists Selmar Aschheim and Bernhard Zondek developed a test using mice, which was later adapted to use rabbits.

The test became popularly known as the "rabbit test" because of the widespread use of rabbits in the procedure. The phrase "the rabbit died" became a euphemism for a positive pregnancy test, although in reality, the rabbit was killed regardless of the test result in order to examine its ovaries.

Procedure

The procedure involved injecting a sample of the woman's urine into a female rabbit. After a few days, the rabbit was euthanized and its ovaries were examined. If the woman was pregnant, the hCG in her urine would cause the rabbit's ovaries to develop distinctive changes, such as the formation of corpora lutea and follicular maturation.

Significance

The rabbit test was one of the first reliable methods for detecting pregnancy and represented a significant advancement in reproductive medicine. It was eventually replaced by more modern methods, such as the immunoassay tests that are used today, which do not require the use of live animals and can provide results much more quickly.

Ethical Considerations

The use of animals in the rabbit test raised ethical concerns, as it required the euthanasia of the animal to obtain results. This led to the development of alternative methods that did not involve animal testing.

Modern Alternatives

Today, pregnancy tests are based on immunoassay techniques that detect hCG in urine or blood samples without the need for animal testing. These tests are faster, more convenient, and do not involve ethical issues related to animal welfare.

Also see

• Pregnancy test
• Human chorionic gonadotropin
• Bioassay
• Immunoassay