Scrotal and inguinal hernias are of great economic importance to the pig industry. These lesions are thought to result from incomplete closure of the inguinal ring and/or a patent processus vaginalis. Impairment of programmed cell death (PCD) may be involved in these abnormalities. As tissue Ca(2+) overload may be used as a measure of cell death, the aim of this study was to determine the tissue Ca(2+) content in samples of hernia sac, peritoneum, cremaster muscle and aqueous fluid from newborn piglets with scrotal or inguinal hernias (n=18) or cryptorchidism (n=18). Control samples from healthy piglets (n=20) were also evaluated. Tissue Ca(2+) content was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Significantly less Ca(2+) was found in the sacs (0.005 mg/g wt), peritoneal tissue (0.100 mg/g wt) and cremaster muscles (0.008 mg/g wt) of piglets with inguinal or scrotal hernias compared with control tissues (0.184, 0.144 and 0.048 mg/g wt for sacs, peritoneal tissue and cremaster muscles, respectively). These findings suggest that there may be perturbation of the apoptotic pathway in the urogenital tissues of affected piglets.