Studies on Blood and Meat Spots in the Hen’s Egg ,

Abstract

THE problem of blood and meat spots in shell eggs continues to be a serious one for the poultry industry. Economic losses from these defects are great, and when the development of automatic detecting devices is completed, the problem will become even more intensified from the standpoint of the breeder and producer. The need for additional research in this area is quite apparent. Burmester and Card (1938) concluded from histological studies that meat spots consisted merely of red blood cells in various stages of degeneration. In vitro studies by Nalbandov and Card (1944) suggested that meat spots resulted from the transformation of blood clots under the influence of changes in pH and high environmental temperatures, either prior to ovulation, during egg formation, or even after oviposition. Blood spot formation was attributed to hemorrhages in the space between the follicular wall and the vitelline membrane before ovulation. These theories on blood . . .