Current Topics in Veterinary Medicine

Session I: Opening of the Seminar.- Research Activities on Hereditary Muscular Hypertrophy.- Session II: Effect of Muscle Hypertrophy on Performance.- General Survey of the Effect of Double Muscling on Cattle Performance.- A Comparison of Normal and Heterozygous Animals for Double Muscling in British Breeds of Cattle.- Discussion.- Muscular Development and Energy Utilisation in Cattle: The Double Muscled as an Extreme or a Deviant Animal.- Some Nutritional Particularities of Pig Breeds with High Muscle Development (Pietrain, Belgian Landrace).- Discussion.- Session III: Nature and Origin of Muscle Hypertrophy: Biological Determination.- Carcase Composition and Muscle Structure in Hypertrophied Animals.- Discussion.- Beef Carcase Conformation and Some Biological Implications.- Discussion.- Relationship Between Muscle Hypertrophy and the Composition of Skeletal Muscles.- Discussion.- The Effect of the Hypertrophied Type on Carcase Composition and Muscle Distribution in the Maine Anjou Breed.- Discussion.- Muscle and Adipose Tissue from Normal and Double Muscled Cattle: Collagen Types, Muscle Fibre Diameter, Fat Cell Size and Fatty Acid Composition and Organoleptic Properties.- Discussion.- The Effect of the Hypertrophied type on Morpho-Anatomical Characteristics of the Perimysium in the Maine-Anjou Breed.- Creatinine Variation in Transmission of Muscle Hypertrophy in Piemontese Cattle.- Discussion.- Creatine and Creatinine Levels in Plasma, Red Cells and Muscles as Characteristics of Double-Muscled Cattle.- Discussion.- Stereological Analyses of Hypertrophic Muscle Fibres.- Discussion.- Quantitative Histochemistry of Muscle Enlargement and Post Mortem Metabolism.- Discussion.- Comparative Study of Muscular Tissue of Normal and Double Muscled Maine-Anjou Bull Calves: DNA and Metabolism.- Discussion.- Biochemical and Histochemical Study of Skeletal Muscles in Four Breeds of Rabbit.- Studies on the 7th Rib Cut in Double Muscled and Conventional Cattle. Anatomical, Histological and Biochemical Aspects..- Endocrinological Studies On Double Muscled Cattle; LH, GH, Testosterone and Insulin Plasma Levels During the First Year of Life.- Discussion.- General Discussion.- Session IV. Genetic Determination and Selection on Muscle Hypertrophy.- Present State of Knowledge about the Genetic Determination of Muscular Hypertrophy or the Double Muscled Trait in Cattle.- Genetic Determination of Muscular Hypertrophy in the Pig.- A Simulation Study of the Population Dynamics of the Double Muscled Gene with Selection for Heterozygote Advantage.- Muscular Hypertrophy as a Racial Characteristic: The Case of the Belgian Blue Breed.- A Note on the Recent History of Piemontese Cattle Surveying the Genetic Determination of Muscle Hypertrophy.- Herd Structure of Pedigree Piedmont Cattle.- Double Muscled Character in Spanish Breeds of Cattle.- Advantages of Using Double Muscled Sires in Crossbreeding and the Selection of a Specialised Double Muscled Sire Line in France.- Preliminary Results of A Selection Experiment for Muscle Hypertrophy in the Pietrain Breed.- General Discussion.- Session V: Use of Double Muscled Cattle and Related Problems.- Analytical Study on Retail Cuts from the Double Muscled Animal.- Analysis of Reproduction Problems in Double Muscled Females.- Discussion.- Production Systems with Double Muscled Belgian Blue Cattle.- Characteristics of the Meat Production from Belgian White - Blue Cattle.- Discussion.- Muscular Hypertrophy and its Significance for Beef Production in the Netherlands.- Discussion.- The Possibilities of Exploiting Double Muscling of Cattle in UK Beef Production.- Comparison of Sire Breeds Represented by Double Muscled and Normal Sires.- Discussion.- Session VI: Final Conclusions and Perspectives.- Final Conclusions and Perspectives.- List of Participants.