title: Choledocholithiasis attributable to a foreign body in a horse.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706.
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Gerros
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: McGuirk
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Biller
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ryan
mesh_terms: 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