Comparative Anatomy of the Pig

With the increasing use of swine as models in biomedical and surgical research, investigators have encountered difficulty with the species because of physiologic and anatomic variations from more traditional large animal models, such as
the dog. The problems encountered in anesthesia and surgery of swine have been addressed in previous publications. Several textbooks address the anatomy of the pig in detail. This article seeks to provide a concise, illustrated guide to the anatomy of the pig with emphasis on its variations from the dog
and its similarities to humans.

M. Michael Swindle, DVM, Professor and Chairman, Department of Comparative Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston