October 2000 News

Resources on Swine Available Online

October 27, 2000

"Information Resources for Swine in Biomedical Research," a resource guide prepared by the Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC), is available online here. This web document provides investigators, laboratory animal veterinarians, technicians, and others using swine for biomedical purposes with access to baseline literature on common models and procedures.

The use of swine in biomedical research has increased significantly over the past two decades. Their anatomic and physiologic characteristics make them a valuable animal model of human diseases, particularly for the cardiovascular, digestive, integumentary (skin), and urinary systems. With the decreased availability and rising costs of other large mammals, such as nonhuman primates and dogs, researchers have turned increasingly to swine as research subjects. Swine also are the most common organ donors for cross-species transplant procedures.

This increased interest in the use of swine for biomedical research makes it all the more important to insure them the best, most humane treatment possible. The AWIC resource can help. Its wealth of information on appropriate anesthesia and analgesia for swine, as well as on such topics as their housing, husbandry, and handling, should prove especially useful to researchers in refining their techniques--both to minimize pain and to improve quality of life for the animals.

Swine are still relatively new experimental subjects for many researchers. The information available here also can help reduce the number of animals used by helping researchers avoid unnecessarily duplication of experiments and by pointing then to the most effective techniques.

This web site contains text and photographs regarding the comparative anatomy and physiology of the pig, bibliographic citations on common swine models, and a listing of swine Internet resources of interest to individuals using swine in biomedical research.

M. Michael Swindle, an expert in swine anatomy, anesthesia, and surgery, is credited with literature contributions and expert review of the resource. Swindle is editor of the definitive primer on the subject, Surgery, Anesthesia, and Experimental Technique in Swine (1998, Iowa State University Press).

AWIC, part of the USDA National Agricultural Library, provides a wide range of information for improving animal care and use in research, teaching, and testing. For additional resources, go here.