Establishment of a Large Animal Model for Eustachian Tube Functional Study in Miniature Pigs

This study was performed to investigate whether miniature pigs are a suitable animal model for studies of the Eustachian tube (ET). Sixteen Chinese experimental miniature pigs were used in this investigation. Ten animals were used for anatomical and morphometric analyses to obtain qualitative and quantitative information regarding the ET. Three animals were used for histological analysis to determine the fine structure of ET cross-sections. Three animals were used to investigate the feasibility of balloon dilation of the Eustachian tube (BDET). The anatomical study indicated that the pharyngeal orifice and tympanic orifice of the miniature pig ET are located at the posterior end of the nasal lateral wall and anterior wall of the middle ear cavity, respectively. The cartilaginous tube was seen to pass through the whole length of the ET, the length of the cartilaginous part of the ET and the diameter of the isthmus were similar between humans and miniature pigs. The inclination of the ET in miniature pigs was larger than that in humans. The gross histology seemed to be slightly different between miniature pig and human, but the fine structures were essentially the same in both species. BDET experiments verified that the miniature pig model is suitable as a model for clinical operations. The miniature pig ET corresponds very well to that of humans. In addition, the miniature pig ET is suitable as a model for clinical operations. Therefore, the miniature pig is a valid animal model for ET study. Anat Rec, 302:1024-1038, 2019. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.