TYPICALLY DEFINABLE RESPIRATORY LESIONS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON MEAT CHARACTERISTICS IN PIGS.

Lung pathologies are considered to be of great economic importance, as they affect the productivity of pigs and also are a problem in meat inspection. The aim of this study was to determine the most frequent respiratory pathologies in pigs at Lithuanian slaughterhouses and to estimate their influence on the physical-chemical characteristics of musculus longissimus dorsi. Lesions of pneumonia, mainly typical "enzootic pneumonia" were detected in 46.14 % of all investigated lung samples. Pleuritis, alone or associated with pneumonia was recorded in 29.55 % of all examined cases. Variable numbers of abscesses, necrosis, and inflammation focuses in lungs of slaughtered pigs were observed, but the lungs were not significantly affected by pneumonia. In pigs with pneumonia statistically significant. Furthermore, in pigs with pathological lesions in the lungs significant increament of meat pH (p<0.05) and tenderness (p<0.01) compared to normal pigs was registered. However, meat yellowness b* was significantly higher (p<0.05) in the group of normal pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]