Eastern Woodchuck

**Semantic type:** Mammal

**Definition:** A burrowing rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The woodchuck model of viral-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) provides an animal model that resembles the complex human liver environment of HCC in the context of chronic hepatitis B viral infection.

**Synonyms:** - Ground Hog - Groundhog - Marmota monax - Woodchuck