[Ethics in pediatric research].

As shown in this article there is a continuous change of the ethical code in the research on humans, and there are correlations between research, ethics and society at any given time. The application of ethical principles during experiments on children are discussed by four selected examples of the past and the present: vaccination against smallpox, vaccination against hepatitis B, metabolic mass screening of newborns, and bone marrow transplantation for children. Means are proposed, how ethical problems can be considered in pediatric research without unnecessary administrative expenditure.