Etiology. Anatomical Changes. Symptoms. 287 



mash, germinated malt, beets and bran, potatoes, liouseliold 

 garbage, factory remnants, leaves, bulbs. Exclusive feeding on 

 straw likewise is often followed by gastric catarrh. Similar 

 errors of diet in horses are more rarely observed, but they 

 occur if these animals are fed with corn, rye, bran, crushed 

 grain, and leguminosa^, without giving them time to adapt them- 

 selves to such food stuffs. Very young oats and insufficiently 

 dried hay are usually also detrimental. Hogs suffer particu- 

 larly if fed too much kitchen garbage. Foreign bodies in the 

 feed are rarely of importance. 



One must look for an infection if the gastric catarrh ap- 

 pears simultaneously among several animals without any ap- 

 parent cause and with febrile s^anptoms. This type is most 

 commonly seen in horses ; its cause, however is not as yet known. 



Animal parasites may likewise cause catarrh of the stomach 

 if present in larger numbers. 



Of external factors over-exertion may bring about catarrh 

 of the stomach, partly in consequence of congestion of the 

 peripheral blood vessels, partly if by reflex irritation the 

 stomach is prevented from discharging its contents. 



The different noxious factors do not always influence 

 animals in the same way; they are frequently borne without 

 harm and particularly in animals which are not so well attended 

 and consequently more hardened. This individual variability 

 in resistance must be considered, and the same method of feed- 

 ing may be harmful to some individual animals and perfectly 

 harmless to others. 



Secondary acute catarrh of the stomach frequently ac- 

 companies acute infectious diseases and quite commonly con- 

 stitutes their earliest manifestation. It is also seen in chronic 

 exhausting diseases such as chronic diseases of the heart, lung, 

 and liver, where venous congestion leads to catarrh of the 

 stomach. Catarrh of the abomasum is a frequent complication 

 of disease of the fore-stomachs in ruminants. 



Anatomical Changes. Intense reddening, serous infiltra- 

 tion, loosening of the tissues of the mucosa, the presence of an 

 abundant tenacious, glairy, sometimes more or less purulent 

 mucus are the most marked anatomical changes. The mucosa 

 is thrown into thick ruga?, which show reddening on their free 

 margins, or even more extensively, and also occasional small 

 hemorrhages and superficial erosions. These changes are most 

 marked at the pylorus and even in such animals where the 

 whole stomach is provided with a glandular mucosa. 



In interpreting the post-mortem findings, one must always remember that 

 certain changes which existed during life, particularly hyperemia, may disapjiear 

 postmortem and that the gastric mucosa always contains an excess of blood during 

 digestion. 



Symptoms. The most important symptom in catarrh of the 

 stomach in all animals is a decrease of appetite, and often its 



