Choledocholithiasis attributable to a foreign body in a horse.
Cholelithiasis is the most common cause of biliary obstruction in horses. Proposed mechanisms include ascariasis, biliary stasis, ascending biliary infection, and changes in bile composition. In this horse, a foreign body acted as the nidus for bile-salt deposition and ascending cholangitis. Clinical signs (intermittent abdominal pain, icterus, and pyrexia) in conjunction with high serum activity of enzymes indicative of obstructive biliary disease led to a tentative diagnosis of cholelithiasis. Ultrasonography was used to confirm the diagnosis. Postmortem examination revealed a 7-cm wooden stick to be the core of a cholelith found in the common bile duct.
Gerros
T C
TC
Department of Medical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706.
McGuirk
S M
SM
Biller
D S
DS
Stone
W C
WC
Ryan
J
J
D000818:Animals; D003135:Common Bile Duct; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000662:veterinary*; D042882:Gallstones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D006736:Horses; D008297:Male; D014463:Ultrasonography