Measuring intestinal blood flow in group-housed weaner pigs using Physiogear™ I: A pilot study ☆ M. Berkeveld a, ⁎ , S.W.M Hendriksen a , H.M.G. van Beers-Schreurs a,1 , A.P. Koets a , P. Langendijk b , G.J. Van Essen c , M.A.M. Taverne a , J.H.M. Verheijden a a Department of Farm Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 7, 3584 CL Utrecht, The Netherlands b Adaptation Physiology, Animal Sciences Group, Wageningen University, P.O. box 338, 6700 AH, Wageningen, The Netherlands c TeleMetronics biometry, Costerweg 5, 6702 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands Abstract The objective of this study was to determine whether intestinal blood flow can be measured adequately in group-housed animals using the recently developed Physiogear™ I wireless flowmeter. We used the weaner pig as one of many possible animal models. Four 7-kg piglets were instrumented with a 3-mm flowprobe around the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and SMA flow was measured pre- and post-weaning. During measurements, behavior was recorded. The piglets did not show any abnormal behavior and were not restrained by the flowmeter. Severe reductions (>75%) in SMA flow coincided with nursing (pre-weaning) and aggressive behavior (post-weaning) and were only short-lived. Our results demonstrate that the Physiogear™ I flowmeter can be used to measure flow in group-housed animals without any human contact, providing the opportunity to relate flow measurements to undisturbed animal behavior. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Weaner pig; SMA blood flow; Wireless flow measurements 1. Introduction A large part of the intestinal tract depends on the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) for blood supply. The SMA branches into several arteries leading to the submucosa from where they split into a web of parallel vessels. During intestinal hypoperfusion, i.e. when intestinal blood flow is impaired, the parallel vessels control the distribution of blood towards the different mucosal tissues preserving the blood flow towards the metabolic active and vulnerable mucosa and preventing ischemic cell damage. Consequently, partial experi- mental occlusion of the SMA for 1 h in anesthetised pigs did not result in an increased intramucosal pH or histologic lesions compared to control pigs unless SMA blood flow was reduced by at least 75% (Pargger et al., 1997). Intestinal hypoperfusion occurs as an adaptation to stress in order to maintain the perfusion of vital organs. Since weaning is associated with multiple stressors, it is relevant to investigate whether splanchnic hypoperfusion plays a part in intestinal dysfunction after weaning. Unfortunately, the current techniques to investigate the effect of splanchnic hypoperfusion on Livestock Science 108 (2007) 159 – 162 www.elsevier.com/locate/livsci ☆ This paper is part of the special issue entitled “Digestive Physiology in Pigs” guest edited by José Adalberto Fernández, Mette Skou Hedemann, Bent Borg Jensen, Henry Jørgensen, Knud Erik Bach Knudsen and Helle Nygaard Lærke. ⁎ Corresponding author. Yalelaan 7, 3584 CL Utrecht. Tel.: +31 302532028; fax: +31 302521887. E-mail address: m.berkeveld@vet.uu.nl (M. Berkeveld). 1 Current affiliation: Animal Health Service Ltd, Deventer, The Netherlands. 1871-1413/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2007.01.039