The effect of stomach volume on the colon topography in cats

The aim of this study has been to describe the effect of varying degrees of fullness of the stomach on the topography of colon in cats by means of the sectional anatomy of the abdominal cavity, Twenty-four adult healthy cats of both sexes and of different ages were used. The cats were divided into t wo groups, of which group one had empty stomachs and the second filled stom achs. Eight cats were dissected. The remaining cats were frozen at -20 degr eesC, the eight of which were sectioned paramedially and the other eight tr ansversely. The ascending colon started at the level of the fifth lumbar ve rtebra, and the cranial boundary of the transverse colon was at the level o f the second lumbar vertebra in cats with empty stomachs. The ascending col on started at the level of the sixth lumbar vertebra in cats with full stom achs, while the cranial boundary of the transverse colon was at the level o f the fourth lumbar vertebra and had lost relationship to the right kidney resting directly on the vertebral column. In both groups, the descending co lon was located in the left abdominal cavity up to the level of the sixth l umbar vertebra, at which point it curved medially and ran cranial to the se venth lumbar vertebra in the median plane. Results from this study are to t hrow light on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.