Table 1.
Effects of location on tissue parameters and cross-sectional brain area of cadaver heads from market weight hogs assigned to 2 shot location treatments1 and sectioned by band saw following the plane of bolt entry (N = 23)
| Captive bolt placement location | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dependent variable | FRONTAL (n = 11) | CAUDAL TO PINNA (n = 12) | Pooled SE | P-value |
| Soft tissue thickness, mm | 8.3 | 56.5 | 3.4 | <0.0001 |
| Cranial thickness, mm | 23.4 | 26.5 | 2.9 | <0.0001 |
| Total tissue thickness, mm | 31.7 | 73.4 | 3.8 | <0.0001 |
| Cross-sectional brain area, cm2 | 25.2 | 18.9 | 1.3 | 0.0028 |
| Bolt–brain contact2, count/% | 11/100 | 8/66.7 | 10.5 | 0.0360 |
1Treatments: FRONTAL—medial bolt entry approximately 2.54 cm superior to a line across the top of both eyes and perpendicular with the external surface of the head; CAUDAL TO PINNA—bolt entry directly caudal to the right pinna with aim toward the left eye on a plane that included both eyes.
2Bolt–brain contact: images of heads sectioned by band saw within the plane of bolt entry were assessed for occurrence of bolt contact with brain tissue.