Technician checks white rabbit 3
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File name: rodent 27.jpg
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Image dimensions: 2989x2512 pixels
Health check on New Zealand white rabbit, August 2000. Please acknowledge joint © Understanding Animal Research/Wellcome Images.
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Rabbits have been very important in the study of heart disease, in particular high blood pressure and blocked arteries. Like mice and rats, rabbits suffer from many of the same diseases as human beings. Young rabbits often die from a disease called mucoid enteritis, which resembles cystic fibrosis and cholera; scientists believe rabbits will contribute to our understanding of these human illnesses. Louis Pasteur used rabbits to develop his rabies vaccine. The papillomavirus, the main cause of cervical cancer, was discovered in rabbits in the 1930s. Rabbits also produce antibodies that can be used to detect the presence or absence of disease in human diagnostic tests.
