An osteodystrophy apparently caused by vitamin D deficiency in growing pigs

Authors: Thompson KG, Robinson BM
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 37, Issue 4, pp 155-157, Dec 1989
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Livestock, Pig, Production animal
Subject Terms: Diet/rations/food, Growth/development, Locomotor, Nutrition/metabolism, Skeletal/bone/cartilage, Disease/defect, Research/development, Vitamins
Article class: Clinical Communication

---

Abstract: An osteodystrophy with features of both rickets and fibrous osteodystrophy was diagnosed in growing pigs housed indoors and fed on a diet deficient in vitamin D. Affected pigs were severely lame and preferred to remain recumbent. At necropsy, the long bones had reduced breaking strength and in one tive-monthold pig the articular surfaces of both proximal humeri were indented due to collapse of subchondral bone. Microscopic changes in the bones included prominent osteoclastic activity in the proximal metaphyses, variable myelofibrosis, trabecular microfractures, and focal thickening of the hypertrophic zone in some growth plates. Treatment consisted of an injection of Vitamin D₃, addition of dicalcium phosphate to the diet for 18 days and long-term supplementation of the diet with fat-soluble vitamins. This is the first report of an osteodystrophic disease in pigs in New Zealand.

---