INFLAMMATION OF STOMACH AND INTESTINES 559 



an enormous amount of abuse, but even the worm will turn at 

 times, and there is a limit to what the stomach and bowels of even 

 a hog can endure. When we place the animals in dirty, filthy, 

 dark, damp quarters, and then feed them with sour, decomposed 

 kitchen swill, fermenting distillers' mash, and other decomposing 

 and unwholesome foods it is not surprising that inflammation 

 of the entire length of the digestive tract develops. 



The disease is especially likely to occur in young pigs and shoats. 

 The pigs often become diseased as a result of improper feeding on 

 the part of the mother. Where sows that are suckling pigs are 

 fed on these rotten, filthy foods it is only natural that a certain 

 amount of the poisonous materials are transmitted through the 

 milk to the litter, and result in the development of an inflamma- 

 tion of the stomach and bowels which soon proves fatal in these 

 little fellows. Intestinal worms is another not infrequent cause 

 for gastro-enteritis in young pigs and shoats. 



Gastro-enteritis is seen as a complication in almost all cases 

 of cholera. In the acute forms of cholera the gastro-enteritis is 

 often very severe, and may be seen postmorten as a bright-red 

 discoloration of the entire length of the intestine as well as the 

 inner Hning of the stomach. 



Symptoms. — The most prominent sjanptoms of a severe in- 

 flammation of the stomach and bowels are loss of appetite and 

 severe abdominal pain. The pain in the belly is usually quite 

 severe. The animal stands with the back arched, the abdomen 

 tucked up, the ears drooped, and the curl has disappeared from 

 the tail. The desire for food is usually entirely lost, although the 

 sick animal is usually quite thirsty and will drink considerable 

 amounts of water. The inflammation, if severe in the stomach, 

 frequently causes quite severe vomiting. This vomiting is espe- 

 cially likely to occur after eating, or after nursing in suck- 

 ing pigs. 



Diarrhea is also a prominent symptom in most cases. At the 

 very beginning of the attack the bowels may be constipated for 

 a few hours, but this is followed later on by a profuse and offensive 

 diarrhea. The color of the bowel discharges will vary somewhat 

 with the nature of the cause and the nature of the food which 

 has been eaten. Some cases show a watery, almost colorless, diar- 



