The heart of a domestic swine is similar to that of a human regarding anatomy, blood perfusion, and distribution of nurturing arteries. In addition to the similarities, its low cost compared with other species is also one of the reasons these animals have been increasingly used in medical schools and in clinical, surgical, and pharmacological studies. Therefore, we aimed to identify the origin and distribution of the right and left coronary arteries of boars, emphasizing the configuration and macroscopic representativity of their branches while characterizing a possible dominance concerning the type of circulation and the potential use of this animal as an experimental model, hence boars are the ancestors of the domestic pigs. The left coronary artery has bifurcated into paraconal interventricular branch and circumflex branch; or it has trifurcated into paraconal interventricular branch, the oblique branch, and into the left circumflex branch. The right coronary artery has originated the marginal branches to the right ventricle and the right circumflex branch, which has branched out in the subsinuous interventricular branch. Anastomoses have stood out among the paraconal and subsinuous interventricular branches – where a right dominant coronary artery occurred – and between the right and left circumflex branches. We concluded that the morphology and the distribution of the coronary arteries of boars resemble those of a human and, thus, our results are useful for the conception of experimental hemodynamics and possible use as process models.

Boars kept on commercial farms use their canine teeth as a mechanism of defense and attack in order to express their natural instincts, which could result in fractures of the teeth and jaws. Thus, utilizing local desensitization of the inferior alveolar nerve is crucial for executing therapeutic procedures in the oral cavities of those animals. Then, the goal is to carry out the morphometry of the mandibular foramen of that species, correlating it with the mandibular structures, while doing so in the safest manner for the animals. For that purpose, six hemimandibles of young-aged Sus scrofa scrofa were used, from which the proposed measurements were taken. On average, the lateral margin of the condylar process stood 142.43 mm away from the root of the lower medial incisive tooth. The longitudinal axis of the body of the mandible measured 22.3 mm at the level of the diastema that exists between the fourth lower premolar tooth and the first lower molar tooth. The mandibular foramen, from the caudal limit of the ventral margin, would be positioned at26.6 mm from the ventral margin of the angle of the mandible in that level, 34.92 mm away from the medial margin of the condylar process, and 38.63 mm away from the dorsal limit from the caudal margin of the coronoid process. The lack of statistically significant differences, and observing that the osseous accident under scrutiny had been positioned in the ramus of the mandible, indicated that the proposed procedure should be performed from the introduction of the needle in an oblique and rostrodorsal direction for 2.0 cm, and angulated at 60º with the anatomic reference created by the medial demarcation obtained via the support of the thumb on the lateral margin of the ramus of the mandible, ventrally to the zygomatic arch, all while preserving neighboring structures and establishing an unheard-of anesthetic methodology for boars.

Introduction: Aujeszky’s disease virus (ADV) infects a wide range of animals, including members of the Suidae family, i.e. domestic and wild pigs, as well as wild boar. Since wild boar are a potential ADV reservoir and a source of infection for domestic pigs, the aim of the study was to evaluate ADV antibody prevalence in the Polish wild boar population, during the years 2011 to 2014. Material and Methods: Wild boar blood samples were collected during three consecutive hunting seasons; i.e. 2011/2012, 2012/2013, and 2013/2014, and tested for ADV antibodies by ELISA. Results: ADV antibodies were detected in samples from all tested voivodships. The average seroprevalence reached 32.2%. Seroprevalence, over the examined hunting seasons, was 27.4% in 2011/2012, 32.4% in 2012/2013, and 35.5% in 2013/2014. The highest percentage of seroreagents was detected in four voivodships, situated along the western border of Poland, i.e. Zachodnio-Pomorskie (ZP), Lubuskie (LB), Dolnośląskie (DS), and Opolskie (OP). This area is positively correlated with the highest density of the wild boar population and the highest wild boar hunting bag. Conclusion: The results of this study confirm that the wild boar population may still pose a threat to domestic pigs, which is of special importance at the final stage of Aujeszky’s disease eradication programme in Poland.

African swine fever (ASF) is currently one of the most severe viral infections of domestic pigs, wild boars, and other hosts belonging to Suidae family. ASF is also considered as the most complex and devastating infectious and haemorrhagic disease of swine due to its severe socio-economic impact and transboundary character. ASF it is a notifiable disease and due to the lack of specific treatment and vaccine, the disease can be only limited by the administrative measures comprising wild boar hunting and stamping out of affected pigs. ASF occurred for the first time in Kenya in 1921 while in Europe (Portugal) the virus was detected at the end of the 1950s. In spite of successful eradication of this threat in a number of affected regions, the virus remains endemic in both feral and domestic pigs in Africa and Sardinia. The ‘new era’ of ASF started in 2007 after its re-introduction to Georgia. Following its intensive expansion, the virus spread to other Caucasian countries, including the territory of the Russian Federation. In 2014 the virus reached Ukraine, Belarus, and, consequently, European Union countries: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland. The occurrence of ASF in wild boars and pigs had a severe impact on both epidemiology and economy because of the national and international transport and trade consequences. Up to date, starting from the February 2014, eighty ASF cases in wild boar and three outbreaks in domestic pigs have been diagnosed. Taking into account the diverse rate of spread in Poland, this review aims to present and discuss the current state of knowledge on ASF including its epidemiology, pathology, transmission, and perspectives of control.