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The miniature pig: a useful large animal model for dental and orofacial research
Author(s) -
Wang S,
Liu Y,
Fang D,
Shi S
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
oral diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.953
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1601-0825
pISSN - 1354-523X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1601-0825.2006.01337.x
Subject(s) - miniature pig , animal model , animal testing , medicine , miniature swine , pathology , biology , surgery , ecology
Compared with small animal models such as rodents, large animal models are superior in many aspects for the study of human diseases and pre‐clinical therapies. Since the development of the Minnesota miniature pig in 1949 at the Hormel Institute (USA), miniature pigs have been used as a large animal model in medical studies for scientific, economic, and ethical reasons. The oral maxillofacial region of miniature pigs is similar to that of humans in anatomy, development, physiology, pathophysiology, and disease occurrence. In this review, we describe the anatomical characteristics of the oral maxillofacial system of the miniature pig, established models of oral diseases in this animal, and other uses of the miniature pig in orofacial research.