AbstractSeveral types of “models” are used in modern biological and biomedical research and teaching. This article attempts to provide a brief explanation of the termini model organism, theoretic and mathematic model, three‐dimensional (3D) model, and 4D model, and an overview about the generation and the fields of applications of these types of models. It will then focus on the application of theoretic and mathematic models, 3D models, 4D models, and simulation for researching cardiovascular morphogenesis. Birth Defects Research (Part C) 96:163–175, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.