The continuous selection for a high muscle content is related to increasing weakness of the function of organ systems (LENGERKEN et al., 1997). These physiological changes are valid as essential reasons for the reduction of meat quality, which is reflected in a change of common meat quality parameters to the worse, decreasing IMF-contents (IMF) and organoleptic properties. From the view of meat quality, the IMF-content influences the organoleptic properties in a favourable way A successful selection for IMF requires a sufficiently precise recording of the parameter. For IMF it is shown that there is a clear variation in the fat content of different muscles of the carcass, as well as within the M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LD), which is commonly used as a reference muscle. In the present study, the intramuscular variation of fat content and meat quality related physiological features of the muscle were examined in the longitudinal (8 or 3 measuring points) and crosscectional (5 measuring points) extension of the LD in 191 pigs of different genotypes in total. Furthermore, relations were checked between the fat content and the characteristics of muscle structure, as well as the parameters of realised meat quality. Samples of the section 11th to 14th thoracis vertebra (BW) show the lowest fat content. Meat from cranial and caudal sections have higher contents. The relation of the IMF content between anterior and posterior sections of the muscle is not yet clear. Considering crossectional distribution of IMF, the ventral part of the LD shows significantly more IMF, with exception of the cranial region. The high fat content in the cranial part corresponds partly to a clear increase in total saturated fatty acids and a decrease in total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). There is futher a change in the composition of the muscle fibres in the longitudinal extension of LD. For common meat quality characteristics (conductivity, pH-value, meat colour), a typical variation within the longitudinal extension of LD is found, which is caused mainly by slaughter technology. For meat samples from the cranial section, best eating quality was found by sensory assessment. There are mostly non-significant, low to moderate negative correlations between the IMF-content and the portion of PUFA, low positive relations to the content of monounsaturated and no clear relation to the portion of saturated fatty acids. In general, no clear relations were found between the IMF-content and characteristics of muscle structure and the common meat quality characteristics. Meat with the best eating quality has more than 4.0% IMF. However, also samples with less IMF (>= 2,1 %) were partly classified as good for organoleptic properties Moderate correlations exist between IMF content and organoleptic properties from the cranial section up to the 12th BW getting looser in posterior direction. The region 7th to 10th BW is most suitable for the prediction of the average fat level of the muscle. However, the fat distribution in the ends of the LD is still unclear. In the case of muscles with an average IMF content of < 1.5%, a measurement in the middle section/beginning of lumbar region is more precise. |