GASTROINTESTINAL MOTILITY AND DISEASE IN LARGE ANIMALS

An understanding of the relationship between gastrointestinal (GI) mot ility and disease is imperative for the proper treatment of large anim al patients, especially as new therapeutic agents become available. Ho wever, the abundance of information that has become available in the l ast 2 decades makes gaining this understanding a formidable task. This article summarizes the changes in GI motility caused by some common d iseases and conditions encountered in large animal practice, such as G I obstruction, postoperative ileus, resection and anastomosis, diarrhe a, endotoxemia, GI parasitism, hypocalcemia, and pregnancy. Copyright (C) 1996 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.