Mice are the most commonly used mammal species for live animal research. Such research is sometimes described as vivisection.
Vivisection (from Latin vivus 'alive' and sectio 'cutting') is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative[1] catch-all term for experimentation on live animals[2][3][4] by organizations opposed to animal experimentation,[5] but the term is rarely used by practicing scientists.[3][6] Human vivisection, such as live organ harvesting, has been perpetrated as a form of torture.[7][8]
^Croce, Pietro. Vivisection or Science? An Investigation into Testing Drugs and Safeguarding Health. Zed Books, 1999, and "About Us"Archived 2013-09-21 at the Wayback Machine, British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection.