Crossroads Veterinary Services (706) 743-7614 or (706) 224-3200

Gastroscopy (endoscopy of the stomach) enables us to visualize the esophagus (passage from the mouth to the stomach), the stomach and part of the duodenum (first part of the small intestine) and evaluate for the presence of stomach ulcers. We also use a gastroscope to evaluate the esophagus for signs of stricture or ulcers after severe episode of choke, to perform bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) procedures in order to collect fluid from the lungs and to perform a cystoscopy (endoscopy of the bladder) in male horses. The use of the 3 meter endoscope requires a good degree of sedation in order to minimize risk of damaging the endoscope, as well as maintaining the horse in a good level of comfort. Although the procedure is not painful, most horses do not like having any instrument placed into their nasal canal. In addition, visualization of some of the organs of interest requires us to inflate them (such as the stomach and bladder) and there is a mild level of discomfort associated with this. Deflation of the organs is performed prior to removing the endoscope. The following pictures are from horse gastroscopies:

1. Normal appearance of the stomach. The division between the pink tissue (the portion of the stomach that is acid secreting, or the glandular mucosa) and the white tissue (the squamous mucosa) is called the margo plicatus. Squamous tissue cells are similar to those of our skin and is the part of the stomach that is usually affected by ulcers. This picture shows a normal margo plicatus with food particles and saliva on the surface of the stomach.

2. Gastric (stomach) impaction with feed/shavings. A biopsy forceps is being passed through the endoscope in order to help break up this ball of feed. Gastric impactions are not very common, but can be a serious cause of colic. Treatment by the referring veterinarian included daily coca-cola and mineral oil. The impaction on recheck gastroscopy 30 days later had reduced in size, was softer and more of the stomach was visualized.

3. Ulcers at the entrance to the small intestine (pylorus). The tissue affected by ulcers is thickened compared to the normal, pink surrounding tissue. Numerous ulcers are present in this area, with mild healing as reflected by the presence of the yellow, fibrinous tissue on the surface. It is easy to see why gastric ulcers can be a frequent cause of colic, reluctance to eat grain and discomfort during exercise. A normal pylorus is visualized on a 30 day recheck gastroscopy.