"There really exists no logical basis for translating the results of animal experiments to man." - Dr. L. Goldberg, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm. Quantitative Method in Human Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Pergamon Press, London, 1959)
Pig Hearts Wrong Shape for Humans
By Dan Lyons
A basic comparison of the anatomy of the pig heart with normal human cardiac structure has revealed that "several potentially significant differences exist between porcine and human hearts".
A study conducted at the Department of Paediatrics, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College School of Medicine, London, and published in the July 1998 edition of the Journal of Anatomy, has uncovered startling evidence of numerous differences between pig and human hearts.
The authors of the study, Crick, SJ; Sheppard, MN; Ho, SY; Gebstein, L; Anderson, RH; remark that scientific literature generally accepts that the "cardiac anatomy" of the pig is similar to that of humans, even though knowledge is limited. Their study, involving a "gross examination and dissection of hearts with macrophotography", overturns this uninformed dogma.
The first discrepancy identified in the abstract of the study is described thus:
The porcine organ had a classic ‘Valentine heart’ shape, reflecting its location within the thorax and to the orientation of the pig’s body (unguligrade stance). The human heart, in contrast, was trapezoid in silhouette, reflecting man’s [sic] orthograde posture.
The abstract continues in an even more technical vein, listing eight separate contrasts. For example:
The porcine left atrium received only two pulmonary veins, whereas 4 orifices were generally observed in man [sic]
and
The apical components of both porcine ventricles possessed very coarse trabeculations, much broader than those observed in the human ventricles.
Despite the jargon, one can generally discern that pig hearts and human hearts are very different indeed.
Several official reports have made the point that any attempts to overcome the complex and virulent rejection processes that would be suffered by pig organs in humans are meaningless if the organs will not function properly.
Uncaged Campaigns have repeatedly stated the obvious: that pig organs are very unlikely to function in human beings because organs have specifically evolved to work in the species in which they naturally exist!
(Source: Uncaged Campaign Newsletter, March 1999)