Needless to say, animal research is a main feature of several of the 15 listed. They are a strangely mixed bag, ranging from whole disciplines such as immunology to specific advances such as chlorpromazine for schizophrenia. Voting for any one in preference to the others is almost impossible.

Although not necessarily directly acknowledged (reference is usually to technologies that directly rely on animal research eg vaccines) in all the entries, it’s the keystone of five of the landmarks listed (monoclonal antibodies, antibiotics, anaesthesia, vaccines and tissue culture).

In addition, it is implicated – again through research or technologies relying on animal research – in five others; even in some that are more concept than hard science (eg evidence-based medicine and the promise of genetics).

Of the remaining five that don’t reference animal research (or its dependent technologies), three are speculative/ concept entries or societal actions that impacted on human health.  Although the importance of events such as sanitation cannot be denied, some – including an advocate of a different medical landmark in the list – have wondered whether they qualify as a ‘medical milestone’: