GI - Stomach pt 1 Flashcards
List the 4 parts of the ruminant forestomach in order of food transit.
- reticulum
- rumen
- omasum
- abomasum
Match the letters with the correct compartment of the ruminant fore stomach.
A: reticulum
B: Rumen
C: Abomasum
D: Omasum
Like birds, camelids have ______ in their fore stomachs. However, unlike birds, they don’t serve a specific function; rather, they are incidental.
Gastroliths
What type of epithelium lines the rumen?
stratified squamous epithelium
What are trichobezoars?
Where are they found? Why?
What do they mean when found in necropsy?
spherical masses of hair or wool
found in the rumens of younger animals from excessive grooming.
Incidental finding
What are phytobezoards?
What do they mean when found in necropsy?
Spherical masses of plant fibres
Incidental finding
What are the gross lesions of ruminal hyperkeratosis?
club shaped, clumped papillae that may be dark
what leads to ruminal hyperkeratosis?
diets high in concentrates
Vitamin A deficiency
high barley diets
You are doing a necropsy of a cow and look at its rumen. What is your diagnosis? What do you think caused it?
Ruminal hyperkeratosis
diet high in concentrates, vitamin A deficiency, or a high barley diet
What causes ruminal tympany? What’s the other name for this pathology?
inability to eructate gas from rumen
Bloat
Ruminal tympany can lead to death through metabolic and physical effects. Name 2 of these effects.
Decreased venous return
Thoracic compression
What are the gross lesions of ruminal tympany?
- marked abdominal distention with “sawhorse” posture
- blood is dark and clots poorly (indicates death from anoxia)
- subq hemorrhage/edema cranially, non-hemorrhagic edema caudally (inguinal is common) [cranial lymph nodes also affected]
- bloat line within esophagus [cranial congestion, becomes pale near thoracic inlet]
- lung compression/atelectasis
A cow comes in with this posture. What is your primary differential based on this?
Ruminal tympany (bloat)
don’t know which type because we haven’t seen the rumen contents yet
This is the esophagus of a cow. Based on the lesion seen in this photo, what is your diagnosis?
Ruminal tympany (bloat)
we don’t know the type because we haven’t looked at the rumen contents yet.
What are the two main types of ruminal tympany? Label them as acute or chronic
Primary tympany = frothy bloat –> acute + severe
Secondary tympany = gas bloat –> chronic
What causes primary ruminal tympany?
diet high in legumes (alfalfa, clover) or concentrates
How can you tell that it’s primary ruminal tympany?
contents are frothy; gas trapped, not eructed
[froth will disappear with prolonged postmortem interval]
What causes secondary ruminal tympany?
vagal indigestion syndromes
Ruminal drinkers
how can you tell it’s secondary ruminal tympany?
gas is free but retained due to physical or functional defect
ruminal contents may look normal
What are vagal indigestion syndromes?
clinical syndrome, gradual development of abdominal distention due to ruminoreticular distension
classically associated with damage to the vagus nerve; however, absence of vagal damage in the maj. of cases
most common cause is traumatic reticuloperitonitis
other causes include anything resulting in a mass effect near junctions b/t compartments (HANG acronym)