The Gö ttingen minipig is recognized by the scientific community and by health authorities as the animal model of choice to evaluate dermally applied drugs under development. Young adults of approximately 4 months of age are most generally chosen to participate in dermal pharmacology and toxicology studies, and recently, minipigs have been proved to be also suitable for juvenile studies. A complete anatomical cartography of the skin morphology of juvenile male and female minipigs from postnatal day 1 (PND1) to twelve weeks of age was performed measuring the thickness of skin layers for each anatomical location and time point. Overall, the neonatal skin of minipigs (PND1 and PND8) shows prominent cellularity, similar to that seen in human neonates, and the morphology of the skin of older animals is considered similar to that of young adult minipigs. Epidermal thickness varies only minimally over the period; whereas, the dermal and more markedly, the subcutaneous thicknesses increase over time.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.