Repeatability of pig body composition measurements using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and influence of animal size and subregional analyses

Abstract

Fifteen Large White x Landrace male pigs were used to investigate the influence of animal size and subregional analysis technique on dual energy X-ray absorptiometry body composition measurements and their repeatability. Pigs were scanned in triplicate with an Hologic QDR4500A X-ray absorptiometer at the beginning of the study (3 weeks of age, liveweight 5-10 kg) and then every 4 weeks until 19 weeks of age. Measurements made by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry included total tissue mass, lean tissue mass, fat tissue mass and bone mineral content. The QDR4500 software allows the scanned image to be divided into head, arms, legs and trunk using an in-built regional analysis grid that contains..