Dr. Vaughn,

My guess is that these pigs were embalmed for study, which means they
used embalming fluid of some sort.  According to streetdrugs.org, "The
percentage of formaldehyde found in embalming fluid ranges anywhere from
5 to 29 percent. The percentage of ethyl alcohol...varies anywhere from
9 to 56 percent."
Who knows how they were stored prior to embalming (refrigerated?  Slow
frozen?) and for how long before the embalming took place.

Seems to me this is the most likely cause of the histology you're
seeing. You might see if there is a vet school somewhere close that
might have the availability of processing freshly fixed samples from
necropsy there.

Teri Johnson
Managing Director Histology Facility
Stowers Institute for Medical Research
1000 E. 50th St.
Kansas City, MO 64133

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