Pigs as Models to Test Cardiovascular Devices

Abstract

Pigs as laboratory animals are used in preclinical studies aimed at developing medical devices for cardiac surgery. The anatomy of the cardiovascular system of these animals has been well studied and acknowledged as suitable for use and the testing of new cardiovascular devices developed for humans. However, there are no morphometric characteristics of the aortic root and thoraco-abdominal part of porcine aorta. This can lead to difficulties in experimental surgery and even result in the death of experimental animals due to the mismatch in the size of the implantable devices. Thus, such information is essential to enhance the efficiency of surgical technologies used for eliminating aortic pathologies in their various sections. The purpose of our research is to study the anatomy of the aorta in mini pigs and to assess whether the size, age, and sex of the animals affect the size of the main structures in their aortas. In addition, we attempted to compare the results obtained by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and angiography. We studied 28 laboratory mini pigs, dividing them into three groups by body weight (40–70 kg, 71–90 kg, and 90 kg). We did not find any relationship between the external somatometric characteristics of the animals and the size of their aortas. Animals have individual anatomical variability in their cardiovascular systems, which means that they need to be examined in terms of preoperative planning by any available method—echocardiography, angiography, or multispiral computed tomography (CT).