Why do anatomists dissect fetal pigs?
A pig's anatomy is very similar to human anatomy and they are, unfortunately, readily available.
Fetal pigs are the unborn piglets of sows that were killed by the meat packing industry. These pigs are not bred and killed for dissection purposes, but are extracted from the deceased sow's uterus. Fetal pigs not used in classroom dissections are often used in fertilizer or simply discarded.