The purpose of the study was to compare and estimate the most suitable diagnostic approaches for thoracoscopy examination of thoracic cavity in dogs. 30 animals were used in the project. All dogs were divided in three groups. In the first group thoracoscop was inserted at 1/3 upper part of V and VIII intercostal spaces on left side. In the second group approaches were performed at the middle line of the right V and VIII intercostal spaces. In the third group paraxiphoid portals on left and right sides were used. The obtained results showed that all approaches had diagnostic value, but the most valuable was paraxiphoid one and it allows for examination the whole chest using one portal.

Copper, an element of great importance for organism, plays a key role in the regulation of metabolism mainly as a component of many enzymes. Deficiencies of this element can be a cause of many subclinic and/or clinic functional disorders. Ruminants are particularly susceptible to copper deficiencies. The purpose of this researches was to evaluate of the dynamics of changes in blood plasma copper concentration of kids in the first month of their life and to investigate how the effect of sex and litter size would affect the concentration of this element. The results suggest that blood plasma copper concentration in kids change most dynamically during the first 10 days after birth. It seems that sufficient efficiency of homoeostatic mechanisms regulating the concentration of this element in the blood is reached before the end of the second week of the postnatal life. Neither the sex of the kids nor the litter size influence copper concentration in blood plasma and the dynamics of its changes with age. Nevertheless, higher concentrations of this element have been observed in single-birth kids.

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of L-alanyl–L–glutamine (Ala-Gln) on the femur structure, geometric and mechanical properties and mineralization in piglets at 8^th week of age. The studies were carried out on 23 piglets between the 1^st and the 56^th day of life. Piglets received orally either 0,4g/kg b. wt. of Ala-Gln solution (Ala-Gln group) or 2 ml/kg b.wt. of saline (control). The piglets were sacrificed at the 56^th days of life and bones were stripped out for further analyses. Bone mineral density in the proximal and distal epiphysis as well as physical parameters (Break strength, maximum elastic force) and geometrical properties (cross sectional area, second moment of inertia, mean relative wall thickness) were analyzed. In histological pictures trabeculae area, length and density in the femoral epiphysis and metaphysis were measured. Physical, geometrical and morphometrical parameters of the femur tendent to increase in Ala-Gln treated piglets. In conclusion, oral administration of Ala-Gln during 8 weeks of life positively affected the development of the femur in piglets.

The research was conducted on 40 spines of mature ducks (6 males and 34 females) and 84 spines of 8-week- old broilers of a domestic Pekin duck (42 males and 40 females). The bonem were cooked in a 3 percent solution of Sodium Bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) and then the bones were prepared with the stream of water after softening the remaining fragments of the muscles. After clearing the material, it was bleached with Hydrogen Peroxide (H₂O₂) and then dried at room temperature (16-20^oC). The description focused on features typical of the specimen as well as changes concerning dimorphism and ontogeny. Bone measurement was done with the use of vernier calipers, exact to 0,1 mm. The aim of the research was to determine the numer of vertebrae In particular parts of the spine of currently bred Pekin ducks as well as to show differences in build in connection with a type of locomotion.

Drożdże Saccharomyces cerevisiae zawierające oddzielnie w 1 kg produktu: Fe – 32,0g, Cu – 23,0g, Mn – 35,4g stosowano jako uzupełnienie tych mikroelementów w mieszankach pełnoporcjowych dla warchlaków. W stosunku do zapotrzebowania uzupełnienie paszy tą formą organiczną mikroelementów stanowiło dla: Fe – 27%, Cu – 75%, Mn – 30%. Źrodłem cynku we wszystkich grupach był ZnO. Po 4 tygodniach żywienia pobrano krew i określono w surowicy zawartość: Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn oraz makroelementów: Ca, P, Mg, Na, K i Cl. Określono także wybrane wskaźniki przemiany białkowej i tłuszczowej. W pełnej krwi oznaczono wskaźniki hematologiczne. Mikroelementy zawarte w drożdżach nie miały większego wpływu na stężenie badanych składników mineralnych w surowicy krwi oraz wskaźniki hematologiczne. W grupie otrzymującej drożdże manganowe nastąpiło istotne obniżenie żelaza, a w grupie otrzymującej miedź – cynku. Drożdże żelazowe oddziaływały istotnie na zmniejszenie poziomu cholesterolu w surowicy krwi.