DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF AN ENDOSCOPIC TECHNIQUE PERMITTING RAPID VISUALIZATION OF THE CARDIAC REGION OF THE PORCINE STOMACH

whether a flexible videoscope could be used to efficiently monitor ulc ers of the pars esophagea in a large group of grower-finisher swine, G astroscopy was performed on 2 separate occasions in 32 pigs following anesthesia with intravenous pentobarbital, and ulcers of the pars esop hagea were subjectively graded, The pigs were then necropsied. Grades from the second endoscopic examination were compared for agreement wit h grades derived from gross inspection of the pars esophagea at necrop sy, and with grades derived from histopathologic examination of sectio ns of the same region, The pars esophagea was adequately visualized in all endoscopic examinations, The average duration of each examination , from anesthetic induction, was approximately 8 min, Gastroscopy perm itted appreciation of a wide range of focal and diffuse superficial an d deep ulcerative lesions of the pars esophagea, but failed to unequiv ocally identify parakeratosis of the pars esophagea, Agreement between endoscopic and subsequent necroscopic and histopathologic gradings of ulcerations was poor, We concluded that the use of a flexible videosc ope permitted rapid inspection of the pars esophagea, and was therefor e a practical method of experimentally monitoring the progression of s pontaneous gastric ulcers in pigs, We also postulated that the poor ag reement between endoscopic and postmortem findings occurred because en doscopy was possibly more sensitive at detecting small and superficial ulcerations, However, further studies are needed to verify the accura cy of endoscopic diagnosis of gastric ulcers in the live pig.