[Quantitative changes in the capillary supply of selected muscles of turkeys, ducks, rats and swine during postnatal...

The capillary and muscle fibre density, the ratio of capillaries to fibres and the mean diffusion distance were determined in histological cross sections of the M. pectoralis of turkeys and ducks, the M. semitendinosus of rats and the M. longissimus of pigs between hatching or birth and maturity. The data were analyzed by fitting the Janoschek growth curve. The capillary and fibre density decrease asymptomatically, the diffusion distance increases. The M. longissimus of the adult pig is provided with the lowest capillary density resulting in the greatest diffusion distance. The highest capillarity was found in the M. pectoralis of ducks.