2. Gastritis

Acute or chronic inflammation of the gastric mucous membrane, often associated with enteritis. The term gastro enteritis is used to describe the condition of inflammation of both stomach and intestinal mucosa. The condition is com mon in all species of domestic animals.

Gastritis in Large Animals. Gastritis without involve ment of other areas of the alimentary tract is rare. Primary gastritis may be caused by the ingestion of caustic or irri tating chemicals in all species, but it is usually accom panied by some degree of stomatitis and enteritis. Gastric disturbance with varying degrees of gastritis may follow over-eating, sudden changes in diet, or indigestion of feeds that are too hot, frozen, moldy or spoiled, the ingestion of sand or foreign bodies and crib-biting with wind-sucking in horses. Chemical rumenitis may occur with grain overload in cattle and is frequently followed by a fungal or bacterial rumenitis. Calves incorrectly fed may develop rumenitis when milk spills into the rumen and putrefies. Abomasal ulceration and abomasitis are common in young calves and often appear associated with the ingestion of straw or other poorly digestible roughage and with hair balls. In all species gastrointestinal parasitic infections are a common cause of gastritis.

Abomasal ulcers occur in braxy and in pasteurellosis in sheep, and gastric __ venous infarction is common in acute septicemic and toxemic disease in swine. Gastritis is common in the erosive and vesicular virus diseases of ruminants and occurs in conjunction with many enteric infections in all species.

In pigs, vomiting is the cardinal sign of gastritis, with depression, inappetence and evidence of abdominal pain. Most parasitic infestations of the stomach produce a protein-losing gastropathy with unthriftiness and diarrhea without evidence of abdominal pain. However, haemonchosis may be manifest purely as a severe anemia without diarrhea, and hyostrogy- losis in adult pigs may simply produce a syndrome of chronic wasting.

Treatment. First and most important is to remove the cause. The animal should be placed on a restricted diet of easily digested food, such as bran gruels or mashes, and green food or fine hay. If the condition is due to spoiled or irritating feeds, evacuation of the gastrointestinal tract with a mild laxative, such as mineral oil is indicated. Antihista mines should be given to prevent laminitis. To provide pro tection to the irritated gastric mucosa, protective agents, such as kaolin or bismuth subnitrate may be given. In acute gastritis in horses, meperidine and spasmolytics are indicated. With severe impactions or overload in horses and ruminants, gastrotomy with removal of the food mass is indicated. Fol lowing cessation of the signs, the animal should be returned slowly to normal diet. In cattle, gastritis often results in disturbance of the normal rumen flora. Rumen inoculation with fresh rumen contents is of considerable aid in hastening recovery in such cases. The administration of a tonic will speed recovery.