Interpretation of basic gross pathologic changes of the digestive tract

The necropsy is a valuable diagnostic tool. When presented with a dead animal, it is not uncommon for the necropsy to be the springboard for the entire diagnostic evaluation. Not only is important information gained from gross examination of the organs but during necropsy, tissue and fluid samples for supportive tests--bacterial culture, antibiotic sensitivity, virus isolation, serology, parasite burden, and toxicologic and histopathologic studies--are collected. It is not essential for a veterinarian to be a pathologist to get good information from a necropsy. This article attempted to identify a number of basic lesions that occur with the most common diseases of the digestive tract of food animals. Additionally, associations between lesions and certain etiologies as well as diseases have been made so that when one identifies a particular lesion (in a live or dead animal), a prioritized list of possible differential diagnoses comes to mind. The necropsy does not stand alone or above the other sources of diagnostic information. The information gained from a necropsy must be correlated with the other information to arrive at either a specific diagnosis or a short list of possible diagnoses. The veterinarian must seek further input, in the latter situation, from additional clinical examinations, laboratory tests, or interviews with the client to arrive at the diagnosis.