title: The origin of the golden hamster as a laboratory animal.
abstract: The introduction of the golden hamster as a laboratory animal was initiated by Prof. Saul Adler F.R.S., who sought a laboratory animal susceptible to infection with Leishmania. His friend and colleague Prof. Israel Aharoni succeeded in collecting a family of hamsters in Syria, with the aid of a hunter by the name of Georgius. The animals were brought to Jerusalem and were bred by Mr. Haim Ben-Menahem, Director of the Hebrew University Animal House. All the hamsters in the laboratory are the descendants of this family.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Adler
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000266:history*; D000818:Animals; D000830:Animals, Laboratory; D006224:Cricetinae; D049673:History, 20th Century; D007557:Israel; D008647:Mesocricetus