Pig bladder

18th century painting of boys fighting over a bladder

Pig bladder (also pig's bladder) is the bladder of a domestic pig, similar to the human urinary bladder. Today, this hollow organ has various applications in medicine, and in traditional cuisines and customs. Historically, the pig bladder had several additional uses, all based on its properties as a light weight, stretchable container that could be filled and tied off.

Medical uses

The medical technology company ACell is noted for developing extracellular matrix products derived from pig bladder.

Traditional uses

Inflating a bladder

The pig bladder has several traditional ceremonial uses in Europe. It is traditional during the festival Fasching in Bad Aussee to brandish inflated pig bladders on sticks. Similarly, in Xinzo de Limia, Spain, inflated pig bladders are carried during Carnival. See also Clown society and Jester and Gigantes y cabezudos and Vejigante.

In traditional Germanic communities a public Schlachtfest (of a pig) is announced by hanging the pig's inflated bladder in front of the host establishment. The bladder is used as a casing for several traditional food items, including the sausages known as ventricina and sobrassada.

Historical uses

Richard Lindon in 1880

Historically the pig bladder was used in sports, as the airtight membrane ("bladder") inside a football. In the early 19th century the inventor William Gilbert used pig bladders in the manufacture of rugby balls. Decades later, Richard Lindon did the same. (See also Mob football, Medieval football, and La soule.)

The oil paint tube was invented in 1841, superseding pig bladders and glass syringes as the primary packaging of paints for transport.^[1]

In the bian lian ("face changing") style of Chinese opera, painted pig bladders were used as face masks.

See also

• Artificial urinary bladder
• Balloon
• Bladder pipe
• Bumbass
• Rubber chicken
• Terry Dicks
• German cuisine
• Spanish cuisine

References

v d e Pigs Kingdom Animalia · Phylum Chordata · Class Mammalia · Order Artiodactyla · Suborder Suina · Family Suidae · Subfamily Suinae · Genus Sus Domestic Selection List of domestic pig breeds • Swine judging • Pig show Husbandry Pig farming • Intensive pig farming • Sty • Pannage • Pig toilet • Hog oiler • Gestation crate • Cross-fostering • Swine diseases • Swineherd As food or other product Pig slaughter • Pig scalder • Suckling pig • Pork • Ham  • Bacon • Lard • Blood • Dishes • Pig bladder Other uses War pig • Truffle hog • Miniature pig • Pig racing • Pig wrestling Wild Feral Wild boar • Razorback • Wild pigs of the Philippines • Boar hunting • Boars in heraldry Pigs in culture Iron Age pig • Miss Piggy • Porky Pig • "The Three Little Pigs" • Babe • Charlotte's Web • The Sheep-Pig Cultural references to pigs