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Effects of Divergent Selection for Leg Weakness on Angularity of Joints in Duroc Swine^1,2,

Iowa State University, Ames 50011

Abstract

Sixty Duroc pigs, representing offspring of three lines from the fifth generation of divergent selection for leg weakness, were examined to determine correlated responses in joint angularity. The lines were low, control, and high, with the latter having superior front leg structure. At approximately 100 kg, 10 pigs of each sex and line were scored for front and rear leg structure and movement. The shoulder, elbow, carpal and hock joints were measured for resting angles and range of motion. The model to analyze the data included the effects of line, sire, sex and side and a covariable for weight. High-line pigs had significantly smaller (P < .05) resting angles of the elbow joint than did control- or low-line pigs. The low-line pigs, however, had significantly smaller resting angles at the carpal joint (P < .01) and greater resting angles at the hock joint (P < .05) than did control- or high-line pigs. The low-line pigs had fewer degrees extension at the elbow joint and fewer degrees flexion at the carpal joint than did control- or high-line pigs. High-line pigs had fewer degrees of flexion of the elbow joint than did control-or low-line pigs. Resting angles and range of motion for the elbow and carpal joints were less on the left side than on the right side. Males had greater degrees of extension and total degrees of movement at the elbow joint than did females. Selection for different degrees of leg weakness resulted in accompanying alterations in angularity of joints.

¹ Journal paper no. J-12838 of the Iowa Agric. and Home Econ. Exp. Sta., Ames, projects 1901 and 2798.

² This research was supported in part by a NATO Collaborative Research Grant. The authors wish to thank Marlan Braet for his assistance in scoring pigs and to John Newton for his assistance in obtaining joint angularity parameters.

³ Dept. of Vet. Anat.

⁴ Dept. of Anim. Sci.

⁵ Institute of Vet. Pathol., State Univ. Utrecht, P. O. Box 80.158, 3508 TD Utrecht, Netherlands.