A practical approach to diagnosis of swine diseases

Blood samples from the vena cava or jugular vein should be chilled but not frozen, and serum chilled or frozen. Tissue specimens for bacteriologic or virologic examination should be chilled in individual plastic bags and frozen if not submitted immediately. Live pigs should be submitted for TGE studies. Tissue specimens for histologic examination should be placed in formalin and not frozen. Aborted fetuses and fetal membranes are more useful if fresh. In baby pigs, the rectal temperature and WBC counts are not reliable indicators of health; the liver may be yellow and the kidneys petechiated in normal baby pigs.