Ls. Svendsen et al., BLOOD-SERUM CHARACTERISTICS OF NEWBORN PIGS - COMPARISON OF UNAFFECTED PIGS WITH PIGS BELONGING TO 5 MORTALITY GROUPS, Acta veterinaria Scandinavica, 32(3), 1991, pp. 287-299
The blood serum levels of glucose, hemoglobin, insulin, cortisol, albu
min, alpha-fetoprotein, alpha2-macroglobulin f and s, alpha2-antitryps
in inhibitor and alpha1-protease inhibitor were determined at birth in
5 clinically and morphologically identified mortality groups of pigs.
These were compared with the levels observed in unaffected, apparentl
y normal newborn unsuckled pigs. The blood serum profile of the pigs i
n the stillborn intra partum, weak, splayleg and trauma groups, respec
tively, as well as that of clinically normal splayleg littermates, dif
fered significantly from that of the unaffected pigs. This was especia
lly true for the levels of hemoglobin and the two macroglobulins. The
importance of placental insufficiency causing chronic episodes of hypo
xia which ultimately lead to a disturbance in organ development in the
etiology of the mortality groups is discussed.