Diseases of Intestine of farm

animals for Vet. Students Assiut

By
Dr. Ali H. Sadiek
Prof. of Internal Veterinary Medicine and
Clinical Laboratory Diagnosis

Dept. of Animal Medicine

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Assiut University- Assiut, EGYPT

E-mail: Sadiek59@yahoo.com
Diseases of the intestine of farm animals

1 - Acute intestinal
obstruction
2- Ilio-cecal valve impaction
3- intestinal tympany
4- Enteritis.
 Diseases of the intestine of farm
animals
1 - Acute intestinal obstruction
A life threating problem, charact. by
acute abd. pain, severe shock, No feces
with passage of blood and mucus. It
includes :
• Volvulus, Intususception
• Strangulation, Invagination
Equine entestine
a): Volvulus ‫ اﻻﻟﺘﻮاء‬:
Is an acute obst. caused by twisting
of a loop of intest. around itself.
Volvulus ‫اﻻﻟﺘﻮاء‬
Volvulus ‫اﻻﻟﺘﻮاء‬
 b): Intestinal strangulation &
incarceration ‫اﻟﺨﻨﻖ واﻟﺴﺠﻦ‬
Occlusion of the intestinal lumen by
pressure from outside. It occurs
when:
1- Loop of intestine passes in a natural
or artificial opening in the peritoneal
and held there.
2- The long stem of a pedunculated
tumour or by other fibrous cords or
bands.
Strangulation-lipoma
Incarceration ‫اﻟﺴﺠﻦ‬
 -
3-In stallions, incarceration in the
inguinal canal may take place due to
inguinal hernia.
4-Rolling from colic seems to be a pre-
disposing cause to such conditions.
5-In bovines: Peritoneal adhesions is
the cause. A segment of the int. may
also passes through a slit in the
diaphragm (diaph. hernia).
C ) Invagination (Intususception) ‫اﻻﻧﻐﻤﺎد‬
• In which telescoping invagination of a
section of the intestine occurs into a
portion immediately behind it.
• It forms a sausage shaped, firm and
painful swelling of 3 layers an outer, a
middle and an innermost layer.
• It occurs mostly in dogs and cattle.
• The more common seat is the ilecoecal
junction.
Intususception ‫اﻻﻧﻐﻤﺎد‬
Intususception ‫اﻻﻧﻐﻤﺎد‬
 Causes of intestinal obstruction
1-Indigestion is the most frequent cause.
2-Violent mov. & rolling or jumping.
3-Sudden or irregular ▲ in peristaltic mov.
of int. after dosing of parasymp.
stimulant as carbacol or colityl.
4-Severe spasmodic colic.
5-Heavy infest. of nodular worms
(Oesophag. columbianum) in sheep or
ascaris in all animals may cause int.
obstruction
Enterolith, phytobezoars ‫اﻟﺤﺼﺎوى‬
‫اﻟﻤﻌﻮﯾﺔ‬
Sandy impacted cecum
Adhesion and Anastomosis
Heavy intestinal parasites
Diaphragmatic hernia and Intestinal herniation
 Clinical findings:
1-Mild pain at first, then severe
continuous pain, anxiety and finally
distress and delirium.
2-Profuse sweating.
3-Violent movements, pawing, kicking at
the belly and ear dropping.
4-The animal may assume dog sitting.
5-Congestion of the mucosa.
6-Laboured breath, Pulse increases to
100/m and poor in quality.
 Clinical findings:
7-Slight rise & then suddenly falls in
temp.
9-Trembling is frequent.
10- Persistent bloating In torsion of
the colon.
11-Vomiting of retching type may
occur (in volvulus of small int.)
13-Peristalsis is absent.
14-The course is from 8-24 hrs.
terminating in death
Congested mucous membranes
 Rectal findings:
In torsion of the small intestine: the upper left
part of the abdomen reveals:
1-Irregular tympany.
2-painful spot, on touch.
3- Displaced Loops of small int. may be found to
the right above the colon.
4-In volvulus of ileum, a tense cord like twist of
mesentery in the region of the left kidney is
felt.
5-Torsion of the colon leads to tympany.
6-Anterior to the pelvic rim you feel a cord like
mass of colic vessels.
Rectal findings in strangulation
 Treatment:
No useful treatment. Even surgical
attempts are useless.
1-Try to give large doses of liquid
paraffin or oil of turpentine or
linseed oil in cases of partial
torsion and in addition apply back
racking and enema of soft soap
and warm water.
2-In complete torsion it is definitely
useless.
2) Impaction of the ilio-cecal valve:
• Occur mainly in horses, causing a
commonly fatal sub acute to acute
abdominal pain.
Causes:
• Feeding on low-grade finely
chopped roughage, that collects
at the ileo-cecal valve causing
complete intestinal obstruction.
Clinical findings:
1-In the 1st 8-12 hrs : sub acute pain w.
normal pulse & respirations.
2- Increased frequency & intensity of
Intestinal sounds.
3-Rectal palp. may reveal the enlarg. of the
impacted ileum in the upper right flank
4-At the end of this phase pain increases in
severity, depression, patchy sweating and
coldness of the extremities. Animal sits on
haunches and rolls and straggles violently.
Clinical findings:
• The abdominal pain becomes severe and
continuous. Weak &rapid Pulse. Increased
Respirations . No abdominal sounds.
• Aspiration of fluids by a nasal tube may amount
several gallons of sanguineous fluid.
• Rectal exam. in this phase reveals that the large
intestine is small and contracted and the small
intestine is so tightly distended with gas and
fluids.
• Death usually occurs 36-48 hrs. after the onset
of disease.
• Rupture of the intestine may occur.
 Illio-cecal valve impaction
Diagnosis:
- It is charct. by gross accumulation of
fluid and food for long course.
1- Early, it may be confused with
spasmodic colic or enteritis:
-Palpation of the impacted ileum may
differentiate both.
- The continuation of the illness suggests
the ilio-caecol valve impaction.
• Diagnosis:
• 2-In the 2nd phase it
resembles acute typmany
except that the small intestine
is obstructed.
• 3-In acute intestinal
obstruction shock is sever.
Treatment:
1-Removal of the fluids from the
stomach and replacement of the
lost fluids.
2-Sedatives.
3-Removal of the obstruction
surgically if the animal survives
but this is without hope.
4-A large doses of mineral oil (1/2
- 1 gallon).
3) Intestinal tympany:
It causes distension of the abdomen
and severe abdominal pain.
sometimes accompanied by the
passage of much flatus.
Causes:
a) Acute intestinal obstruction.
b) Constricting adhesions from
perforated gastric ulcer or ilic-caecal
valve impaction.
Tympany of large intestine:
• 1ry causes: ingestion of large
quantities of highly fermentable
green pasture, spoiled or moudly
food or atony of the bowl.
• 2ndry causes: acute intestinal
obstruction or stenosis (verminous
aneurysm-fibrous tissue formation)
Clinical findings:
1-Abdominal distension
2-Acute & continuous Pain, pawing
violently and the horse lies down very
carefully.
3-Reduced Peristaltic sounds but fluids
may be heard moving in gas-filled loops
producing tinkling and metallic sound.
4-Rectal exam. reveals gas-filled loops of
intestine.
5-In primary tympanitis much flatus is
passed and the anus may be in a state of
continous dilatation.
• Diagnosis:
• 1- Primary tympany is difficult to
different. from 2ndry one. But the
presence of faeces, flatus and the
history of engorgement on lush psture
may differentiate the two.
• 2- Primary tympany involves nearly the
whole of the tract.
• 3- Tympany due to obstruction
terminate fatally in a short time.
Treatment:
1-Sedatives:
i/v injection of novalgin 50%.
2- carminatives and intestinal
stimulants;
oral mixture of ammon. carbonate &
charcoal in equal quantities dissolved
in water.
3-External abdominal or rectal
massage, to stimulate the peristalsis.
4- Rectal enema has the same action.
5-Intestinal Antiferment.
• -Carbolic acid (Sol. 2%) 200 ml
• -Or formalin sol. (10-20 ml) dissolved in 2
L water to be given orally.
• -Or Mineral oil (1/2 - 1 g) contain oil of
turp. (30-60 ml), formalin (30 ml) or
chloroform (30 ml).
6-In severe cases trocarization may help
7-In 2ndry tympany, correction of the
obstruction is essential.
 Verminous anurysm
• Migration of the larvae of strongylus
spp. into cranial mesenteric artery
and its branches occurs in horses
▼
• Restrict. blood supply to the intestine.
• It should be different. from intest.
Obst. which is accomp. by tympany
Signs V. mes. arteritis Int. obst. w.
Tympany
Pain Less severe Severe
Feces + may bloody Mucoid,
gaseous
Rectal knobbly thickened no obstructed
exam obstructed mesent. intestinal
vessels loops.
Perstal ▲▲▲ ▲ in some
sis areas and
absent in
others