ABSTRACT
This chapter will provide the reader with an introduction to the pig as a biomedical research animal model, providing an overview of their historic uses in biomedical research leading up to the beginning of the last century. From that point onward (ca. 1900), the focus will shift from a historical, and somewhat anecdotal, overview to a meta-analysis of the use of pigs in research, as documented by the published literature with a focus on major areas of use, including geographical and institutional patterns of publication and funding patterns. Finally, the number of pigs used in research in four major geographic regions will be presented.
