Anatomy &
Physiology
of the Pig
ANSC 4401
Swine Production
Why understand pig A&P?
It will open new areas of application of
pig biology to benefit humans
 It helps you have a conversation with
other pig people, veterinarians and
scientists
 It will help you manage pigs in
meaningful ways on farms

Recognize disease states more easily
 Obtain blood or other tissue samples

Anatomy & Physiology
Outline
Anatomical terms
 Major bones
 Uses for pigs other than for eating
 Some terminology
 Blood collection
 Necropsy

Anatomical terms
Major bones of the pig
Uses of pigs other than for eating
Organ donors
 As a source of biological materials,
ex. Insulin or heparin
 As a model for biomedical research
 As an organ donor to humans
 For entertainment
 As pets
 As truffle-finders (they are smell
experts)

Xenotransplantation &
Cloning
New pig cloning research promising yet
risky, studies indicate
August 17, 2000
Web posted at: 12:57 PM EDT (1657
GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two groups of
researchers publishing work in rival
scientific journals report similar
successes in cloning pigs -- a difficult
process that may lead to ways to grow
organs in the animals destined for
human transplantation.
"The goal here is to reduce the shortage of
organs for transplantation and prevent
any more needless deaths that arise
because people simply don't receive
the organ they need," said Dr. Anthony
Perry of New York's Rockefeller
University.
Some Terms




Serum (fluid minus all
cells and clotting
factors)
Plasma (fluid
including soluble
clotting factors)
Red blood cells
(obtained only from
plasma)
White blood cells
(obtained only from
plasma)
Composition of Newborn
Pigs
Table 1. Composition of newborns of three species and neonatal pigs.
Data are percentage of total body weight.
Species
Water
Protein
Fat
Human, newborn
69.1
11.9
16.1
Rat, newborn
86.0
10.8
1.1
Pig, newborn
84.1
11.3
1.1
Pig, 7 days old
68.5
13.6
9.5
Pig, 28 days old
61.8
14.4
17.8
From Widdowson, 1950 and Manners and McCrea, 1963.
Blood Collection From
Pigs
 Ear
veins
 Jugular vein
 Facial vein
 Tail vein
 Orbital Sinus
Points to sample from or inject into
the venous system of pigs
Piglets
1. Ventral Neck
Vena Cava
External Jugular
Lingual-facial
Facial
Young pigs




difficult 
difficult

Adults




2. Orbital sinus


3. Ear vein
difficult
difficult

4. Tail vein
difficult
difficult

not advised
5. Heart (cardiac puncture)
na*
na*
na*
* not advised except as a last resort or in the case of euthanasia
Preferred method of restraint
on back on back standing, snared
Common Bleeding Ports
Orbital
venous
sinus
Facial Vein
Auricular
(ear) vein
External
Jugular Vein
Bleeding Trough for Young
Pigs
Bleeding tools: Vacutainer
Bleeding sows
Blood Collection Tubes
Table 2. Common blood collection tubes (tubes with * are commonly used)
Color of tube top
Fluid type Anticoagulant
Example uses
Red*
Serum
none
Antibodies, minerals, other proteins
Blue
Either
Na heparin or none
Special blood chemistries
Brown
Plasma
Na heparin
Lead determinations & others
Black/light blue
Plasma
Na citrate
Coagulation studies
Gray
Plasma
glycolytic inhibitors
Glucose determinations
Green*
Plasma
lithium heparin
Na, Ca sensitive assays
Yellow
Plasma
sodium citrate
DNA extraction
Purple/Lavender*
Plasma
EDTA
Clotting factors
Maximum safe blood draw
Total blood
volume, mL
Maximum
draw, mL
Newborn, 3 lb
110
10
Nursery pig,
35 lb
1,280
120
Sow, 440 lb
16,000
1,600
Age & weight
Selected normal blood values
Measure
Blood volume
WBC count
Neutrophils
Lymphocytes
Gamma globulin
Value
8%
10-12 thousand/μL
45 %
50 %
25-30 mg/mL
Necropsy – Why?
To improve the herd health
 To contribute to the herd health
program
 To identify causes of illness or death
so that

Effective treatments can be applied
 Preventative measures can be
implemented

Necropsy – What to look for








Skin condition
Swollen joints
Wounds or abscesses
Intestinal condition (fluid-filled, bloody, gas,
etc)
Lung condition (hemorrhage, non-functional
tissues, edema, etc.)
Liver condition (look for milk spots;
indication of a parasitic infection)
Condition of other organs (kidneys, spleen,
heart)
Snout condition (condition of the turbinates)
Necropsy – “normal”
Necropsy -- Tools
Scalpel
 Probes (spatula or equivalent)
 Saw (hack saw or equivalent)
 Water
 Mechanism to dispose of parts (plastic
bags)

The End