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Human Guinea Pigs, by Kenneth Mellanby: A Reprint with Commentaries

  • Reprints a seminal work in the history of medical ethics and human subject research that has been nearly unavailable for over 40 years
  • Enlists experts in the history of medicine and human subject research to offer context for the original volume’s importance in the field
  • Offers us a way to think about human subject experimentation in a time before mandated regulatory oversight

Part of the book series: Philosophy and Medicine (PHME, volume 134)

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Table of contents (24 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xviii
  2. Reprint of Second Edition of Human Guinea Pigs

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Preface to the 1945 Edition

      • Kenneth Mellanby
      Pages 3-4
    3. Preface to the 1973 Edition

      • Kenneth Mellanby
      Pages 5-8
    4. Chapter 1 Biological Research in War-Time

      • Kenneth Mellanby
      Pages 9-12
    5. Chapter 2 Scabies as a Research Problem

      • Kenneth Mellanby
      Pages 13-19
    6. Chapter 3 Preparations for the Investigation

      • Kenneth Mellanby
      Pages 21-24
    7. Chapter 4 The Human Experiment Begins

      • Kenneth Mellanby
      Pages 25-29
    8. Chapter 5 How Is Scabies Transmitted?

      • Kenneth Mellanby
      Pages 31-36
    9. Chapter 6 Dietetic Experiments

      • Kenneth Mellanby
      Pages 37-42
    10. Chapter 8 The Work Goes On

      • Kenneth Mellanby
      Pages 51-59
    11. Chapter 10 Some Further Experiments

      • Kenneth Mellanby
      Pages 69-74
    12. Chapter 12 Science and the Press

      • Kenneth Mellanby
      Pages 81-83
    13. Chapter 13 Human Guinea Pigs, Past and Future

      • Kenneth Mellanby
      Pages 85-88
    14. Chapter 15 Malaria

      • Kenneth Mellanby
      Pages 97-100

About this book

This book reprints Human Guinea Pigs, by Kenneth Mellanby, a seminal work in the history of medical ethics and human subject research that has been nearly unavailable for over 40 years.  Detailing the use of World War II conscientious objectors who volunteered for experimentation on scabies transmission, Mellanby’s book offers insight into one approach to human subject experimentation before the development of ethical oversight regulations. His work was initially published prior to the articulation of the Nuremberg Code, which makes his subsequent position as a reporter for the British Medical Journal at the Nuremberg Trials very interesting, particularly given his sometimes controversial opinions on Nazi medical experimentation. This book reprints the second edition together with commentary essays that situate Mellanby’s ethical approach in historical context and relative to contemporary approaches. This volume is of particular interest to scholars of the historyof human subject research.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Philosophy, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, USA

    Lisa M. Rasmussen

About the editor

Lisa M. Rasmussen earned her PhD in Philosophy (with a focus on bioethics) from Rice University ,and is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Factuly Fellow in the Graduate School at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.  One of Dr. Rasmussen’s main research areas is research ethics, particularly research misconduct and federal regulatory approaches to ethical issues in research. She is presently working on a book manuscript on unregulated human subject research, and serves as Editor of the book series Philosophy and Medicine. 


Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Human Guinea Pigs, by Kenneth Mellanby: A Reprint with Commentaries

  • Editors: Lisa M. Rasmussen

  • Series Title: Philosophy and Medicine

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37697-0

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-37696-3Published: 11 June 2020

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-37699-4Published: 11 June 2021

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-37697-0Published: 10 June 2020

  • Series ISSN: 0376-7418

  • Series E-ISSN: 2215-0080

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVIII, 214

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Bioethics, History of Medicine

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access