Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-5nwft Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-04T20:44:39.060Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effects of sex, age and body weight on selected organs of indigenous Nigerian pigs: liver, kidney, heart, lung-and-trachea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

A. I. Essien
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
B. L. Fetuga
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Summary

The absolute and relative growth of the liver, kidney, heart and lung-and-trachea were studied for 64 female, 64 castrated male and 64 intact male indigenous Nigerian pigs between birth and 672 days of age. Highly significant (P < 0·001) sex and age influences were obtained for the absolute and relative weights of the liver, kidney and heart. At 280 days of age, the four organs on average weighed 28 times their birth values; the terminal weights averaged 1·31 times their values at 280 days. Organ growth became stabilized after 280 days.

The allometric equation: Y = aXb, transformed to its linear form log Y = log a + b log X, was employed to examine the relationship between organ weight and body weight. The growth coefficients 6 obtained ranged from 0·787 for kidney to 0·850 for lung-and-trachea and were similar to values reported in the literature. The accompanying highly significant R2 values strongly indicate that the functions of these organs are related to overall metabolism, which in turn is strongly dependent on body size.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alaku, S. O. (1978). The effect of season and age at slaughter on tissue deposition in pigs reared in tropical environment. Ph.D. thesis, University of Ibadan.Google Scholar
Alaku, S. O. & Steinbach, J. (1982). A note on kidney weight in Large White pigs reared in the humid tropics of southern Nigeria. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 98, 229231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, A. E., Medin, D. E. & Bowden, D. C. (1974). Wildlife mimeographs: growth and morphometry of the bones, carcass selected bones, organs and glands of the mule deer. A publication of Wildlife Society of U.S.A., pp. 6120.Google Scholar
Brody, S. (1945). Bioenergetics and Growth. New York: Reinhold.Google Scholar
Chiboka, O. (1981). The effect of age at first mating on litter characteristics in the native Nigerian pig. Livestock Production Science 8, 155159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davey, R. J. & Bereskin, B. (1978). Genetic and nutritional effects on carcass chemical composition and organ weights of market swine. Journal of Animal Science 46, 9921000.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deavers, S., Huggins, R. A. & Smith, E. L. (1972). Absolute and relative organ weights of the growing beagle. Growth 36, 195208.Google ScholarPubMed
Doornenbal, H. & Tong, A. K. W. (1981). Growth, development and chemical composition of the pig. IV. Relative growth of visceral organs. Growth 45, 279285.Google ScholarPubMed
Endeley, H. N. L. (1979). Reproductive performance and growth studies on intensively managed indigenous Nigerian pigs from birth to 36 weeks. Ph.D. thesis, Department of Animal Science, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Essien, A. I. (1983). Growth studies on the indigenous Nigerian pigs. Ph.D. thesis, Department of Animal Science, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Fetuga, B. L., Babatunde, G. M., Olabisi, E. O. & Oyenuga, V. A. (1977). Comparative responses of Large White × Landrace and the indigenous Nigerian pigs to diets of varying protein concentration. Nigerian Journal of Animal Production 4, 181204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fetuga, B. L., Babatunde, G. M. & Oyenuga, V. A. (1976). Comparative physical characteristics in the indigenous Nigerian and imported European pigs. Nigerian Journal of Animal Production 31, 7487.Google Scholar
Huxley, J. S. (1932). Problems of Relative Growth. London: Methuen.Google Scholar
Ilori, J. O., Adegbola, A. A., Adeyanju, S. A. & Omole, T. A. (1975). Effect of protein level on reproductive performance of pigs under tropical conditions. Malaysian Agricultural Research 4, 193197.Google Scholar
Johns, P. E., Smith, M. H. & Chesser, R. K. (1980). Effects of sex, age, habitat and body weight on kidney weight in White-tailed deer. Growth 44, 4653.Google ScholarPubMed
Latimer, H. B. (1942). The prenatal growth of the cat. XII. The weight of the heart in the fetal and in the adult. Growth 6, 341349.Google Scholar
Lilja, C. (1982). Postnatal growth and organ development in the quail (Cortunix cortunix japonica). Growth 46, 8899.Google Scholar
Regoeczi, E. & Taylor, P. (1978). The net weight of the rat liver. Growth 42, 451456.Google ScholarPubMed
Somade, B. (1985). The influence of season parity and duration of lactation on some performance traits of sows indigenous to Nigeria. Beitrage zur tropischen Landwirtschafl und Veterinamedizin 23, 8187.Google ScholarPubMed
Somade, B. & Makinde, A. O. (1985). The influence of season on sow weaning to estrus interval and subsequent reproductive performance following estrus synchronization by batch weaning. Beitrage zur tropischen Landwirtschaft Veterinamedizin 23, 339343.Google ScholarPubMed
Steel, R. G. D. & Torrie, J. H. (1960). Principles and Procedures of Statistics. New York: McGraw Hill.Google Scholar
Thomas, J. M. & Beamer, J. L. (1971). Age-weight relationships of selected organs and body weight for miniature swine. Growth 35, 259272.Google ScholarPubMed
Webster, S. H., Liljegren, E. J. & Zimmer, D. J. (1947). Organ: body weight ratios for liver, kidneys and spleen of laboratory animals. 1. Albino rat. American Journal of Anatomy 81, 477513.Google Scholar
Weinbren, K. (1961). Ageing changes in the liver. In Structural Aspects of Ageing (ed. Bourne, G. H. and Wilson, E. M. H.), 419 pp. New York: Hafner.Google Scholar