Pig fistula specimen prepared by Howard Florey to study atherosclerosis, 1959

Pig fistula in liquid paraffin, in large jar, dated 29.06.59, labelled J2, this specimen comes from the original pig used for study of atherosclerosis of the arteries by H.W. Florey.

This specimen of a pig fistula was made in 1959 by Howard Florey (1898-1968), an Australian pahramocologist and pathologist most famous for reciving the Nobel prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1945 for his role in the development of penicillin. After WW2 and the development of penicillin as an antibiotic, Florey who worked at Sir William Dunn School in Oxford, carried out research in a wide range of diseases including cancer and peptic ulcer. Using a pig as an animal model, the pig was operated on and given a fistula (an abnormal opening between two parts of the body or a part of the body and the skin) to study a peptic ulcer in the pig's stomach.

After the operation, the pig lived for many years after. Florey went on to develop a research interest in atherosclerosis, the buildup of fats, cholesterol and other substances in and on the artery walls that can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. When the pig eventually died, Florey examined the pig's body to look for natural signs of vascular disease, to see if signs of the disease could be found in pigs. He discovered the signs of the disease closely resembled that in people, and began to study the disease process more widely in pigs.