Parasitological and Pathological Findings of Marginal Emphysema in the Swine Lungs

Abstract

Parasitological and pathological examinations were performed on 104 pigs with emphysema along the lung margin due to lung worm infestation at a slaughter house in Ibaraki Prefecture from July 1989 to March 1990. Lung lesions containing lung worms were most prevalent in the right diaphragmatic lobes (81.7%), and common in the left diaphragmatic lobes (76.0%). Most of the pigs (75.0%) had emphysematous changes at the margin in one or two pulmonary lobes and lung worm infestation was evaluated to be mild in the pigs examined. Average number of lung worm was 4.1 per bronchiole, and the female to male ratio was 3: 1. All the lung worms obtained in this series were identified as Metastrongylus apri. Histopathological examination revealed prominent eosinophilic infiltrations and hyperplastic lymphoid follicles in the bronchial mucosa.