Chronic idiopathic intestinal pseudo-obstruction in an English bulldog

A case of chronic idiopathic intestinal pseudo-obstruction in an English bu lldog is described. The dog was presented with chronic weight loss and vomi ting. An intestinal obstruction was suspected based on clinical and radiolo gical findings. A diagnosis of chronic idiopathic intestinal pseudo-obstruc tion was made on the basis of full thickness intestinal biopsies. The dog w as refractory to any antiemetic therapy. Necropsy revealed marked atrophy a nd fibrosis of the tunica muscularis, together with a mononuclear cell infi ltrate extending from the duodenum to the colon. This case was presented wi th clinical findings consistent with visceral myopathy in humans namely, at ony and dilatation of the whole gut - but the histological findings resembl ed sclerosis limited to the gastrointestinal tract.