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A note on the physiological development of a red muscle from the ham region of the pork carcass

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

H. J. Swatland
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario NIG 2W1, Canada
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Abstract

Samples from a dark red area of the vastus medialis muscle were taken from eight Canadian Yorkshire-breed pigs after slaughter. Frozen transverse sections were tested for alkali-stable adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and the ratio of strong to weak reacting muscle fibres was determined from photomicrographs. The percentage of fibres with strong ATPase reactions was positively correlated (r = 0·82, P<0·01) with animal live weight. This growth-related change is in the opposite direction to that known to occur in the white longissimus dorsi muscle of the pork carcass.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1978

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References

REFERENCES

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