Why do they use pigs in medical research? (over other animals?)?

Pigs are very similar to humans physiologically, and


to some extent anatomically, also. They are far


superior to rats for medical research, for this


reason, but rats are cheaper so they are used


extensively.





Pigs are NOT closely related to humans, however,


as one answer states. That person has confused


similarity in some ways with genetic relationship.


Our closest living relative evolutionarily is one of


the great apes. It is usually said to be the


chimpanzee or bonobo, but one researcher has


made a fairly good case for its being the orangutan. Actually all the five great apes - human.


gorilla, chimp, bonobo and orangutan are so near


each other that the differences are statistically


almost insignificant.

Why do they use pigs in medical research? (over other animals?)?
Pig biology is conveniently similar to human biology.





“The pig is a great research model because it mimics the human body quite well,” MU spokesman Christian Basi said. “Not only in terms of how it functions but actually its size.”





It is this similarity that has prompted researchers across the country to use pigs in researching human disease, genetics and responses.
Reply:Humans are more closely related to pigs than any other animal or species. Believe it or not.





That explains my ugly neighbors.
Reply:their organs are really similar in location and structure to humans. in physio, we dissected a pig to study the human body.
Reply:from what I understand about the pigs, there are the closet to humans as far as organs and other stuff
Reply:Because they are similar to humans, for example the organs inside their bodies such as the heart. And as the medical researshes result in the formation of medicines that are benefit for humans, so the replacement of humans, which are the pigs are chosen to do researches on.
Reply:Pigs are useful in medical research for several reasons. They will eat anything that people eat (and they have a real sweet tooth), so they can be used as a model for human disorders linked to nutrition. In addition, pigs have striking physiologic and metabolic similarities to humans. The porcine and human cardiovascular systems, stomachs, teeth and skins are very similar, Panepinto says. Pigs also have a natural tendency to develop such diseases as ulcers, atherosclerotic lesions and sometimes diabetes.
Reply:It softens em up for good eating
Reply:the flesh of a pig reacts very much like human flesh. they are very similar. i suppose that is why they sometimes use pig heart valves in humans as well.





as per csi, the pig body decomposes like the human body.