draize test

Draize test   (drāz)    n.  A test to determine the degree to which a substance such as a cosmetic or pharmaceutical irritates human tissues, in which a small amount of the substance is applied directly in the eye of a rabbit, and the rabbit is then monitored. [After John Henry Draize (1900-1992), American pharmacologist.]

Main Entry: Draize test
Pronunciation: 'drAz-
Function: noun
: a test that is used as a criterion for harmfulness of chemicals to the human eye and thatinvolves dropping the test substance into one eye of rabbits without anesthesia with the other eye used as a control called also Draize eye test
Draize, John Henry(1900–1992), American pharmacologist. Draize spent the better part of his career as a pharmacologist with the U.S. government's Food and Drug Administration. His areas of research includedskin pharmacology, the toxicity and pharmacology of drugs, and the testing of cosmetics. He introduced the Draize test for cosmetics in 1944.