THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM 29 



Treatment. This condition is not very successfully 

 treated because of the tendency to permanent dilatation 

 of the stomach. Dieting, especially with easily digestible, 

 concentrated foods, is especially advised. 



Tumors 



Tumors of the stomach of swine are not very preva- 

 lent, or at least such cases are rarely reported. 



Fibromas have been observed in only a few instances. 

 They usually involve the serous coat and rarely become 

 of sufficient magnitude to cause damage other than 

 slight mechanical interference. These tumors are in- 

 variably incapsulated, and appear as a dense, fibrous 

 mass. 



Lipomas occur in the serous coat of the stomach of 

 swine though they are not common. A few such tumors 

 have been observed, and in one instance the tumor had 

 become so large that it seriously interfered with the 

 function of the organ by displacing the stomach and 

 producing such pressure that it practically occluded the 

 duodenum and resulted in death. Lipomas appear as 

 more or less nodular masses, and are invariably incapsu- 

 lated. ^ ij 



Of the malignant tumors, carcinoma and adenoma 

 have been observed, although they too are rather infre- 

 quent and do not appear to be so injurious to the health 

 of swine as the same kinds of tumors are to horses or 

 even to cattle. Carcinomas may develop in the sub- 

 mucosa and project into the lumen of the intestine 

 as a cauliflower-like mass, or they may develop 

 in the mucosa, producing erosions not only of the 

 mucous membrane, but of the other structures of the 

 stomach wall, ultimately causing perforation and fatal 

 peritonitis. These tumors are not incapsulated. 



The symptoms evolved as a result of tumors are quite 

 variable and not sufficiently characteristic to permit a 

 positive antemortem diagnosis. 



The treatment of gastric tumors is entirely surgical. 



