Ledpatologin hos 10 ungsuggor som uppvisat hälta och/eller förlamning
On average half of the sows in Swedish piglet producing herds are culledannually. A significant portion of the sows are euthanized because of lameness orparalysis. Young sows and gilts are overrepresented in the category of animals,culled due to injuries in the musculoskeletal system. These injuries cause pain tothe animals. Early culling of sows/gilts also have economical consequences forthe producers. The purpose of this study was to characterize joint and skeletalchanges found in 10 gilts, euthanized due to lameness and paralysis. Joints,including articular cartilage, subchondral bone and joint capsules were examinedmacroscopically, histologically and the synovial fluid was culturedbacteriologically. The pathological finding, responsible for lameness and paralysisof the 10 sows in this study were; arthritis, osteochondrosis, fractures, and oneabscess in the vertebral column. The lesions were both acute and chronic innature. Several of the lesions included osteoarthritis, which is a common sequel ofvarious joint injuries.