Swine

This fact has enabled swine-based research to achieve more relevant and significant findings than research using other species.

There are many reasons for the increased usage of swine in biomedical research:
Swine are considered to be one of the major animal species used in translational research, surgical models, and procedural training and are increasingly being used as an alternative to other species as the choice of non-rodent species in preclinical toxicologic testing of pharmaceuticals.

The similarity of pigs to humans in anatomical size and structure, physiology, immunology, and genome enhances their potential as models for humans.
In addition to swine being an idle animal model for medical research, it is also used for training surgeons to use laparoscopic and robotic techniques.
The pre-clinical unit of Shamir Medical Center has both the facility and expertise with swine in various disciplines.