Pigs were used, for example, to develop and test the patches which travelers wear on the skin to prevent motion sickness . Many treatments and drugs for skin diseases, including therapy for severe burns , have been developed in pigs. Research into how wounds heal has also benefited from the contributions of swine, making them invaluable tools for researchers in plastic and reconstructive surgery , as well as other areas. Swine have been used extensively in nutrition studies . Because they can suffer from gastric ulcers , they are widely used in ulcer research.
Pigs are also useful to medical researchers studying cardiovascular problems .
In general, the cardiovascular and integumentary systems of miniature swine are more biologically similar to humans than those of any other animal. This similarity is most marked in the anatomy and physiology of the heart, and pigs have been useful in models of cardiac surgery , including heart transplantation and pacemaker studies. Their role in the testing of cardiovascular drug treatments is well documented, and they can be good models for studies of stress and its relation to such disorders as hypertension . Pigs have shed light on the relationship between exercise and coronary physiology and health . As early as 1775, pigs were shown to develop atherosclerosis as a natural part of aging.