Esophagus-

 Esophagus

  Esophagitis :

it is term given to inflammation of esophagus , it is infrequent in animals .

Causes of esophagitis :

1-trauma by stomach tube or foreign bodies .

2-infection.

3-caustic chemicals.

4-parasite .

5-persistent vomiting in dog .

Most common affections of esophagus

Erosive and ulcerative esophagitis :

It is common finding associated with viral disease .

Bovine viral diarrhea , cattle plague and malignant catarrhal fever produce longitudinal epithelial defect .

Bovine popular stomatitis , infectious rhinotracheaitis  and herpes viruses produce focal necrotizing lesions.

Thrush or mycotic esophagitis :

It is specific inflammation of the squamous epithelium of alimentary tract caused by specific fungi called candida allbicans .

This is a disease of young animal .

 In this disease appear whitish pseudo membranous lesions  patchily distributed on buccal mucosa , back of tongue , pharyngeal mucosa and esophagus .

Choke :

It is complete or partial obstruction of esophagus by foreign material . 

Causes of choke 

1- in a cattle 

trying to swallow turnips , beets and small ears of corn without reducing them to smaller pieces .

2-in a horse 

gradual accumulation of ground  or whole grain that fail to passage through whole length of esophagus.

3-in dog and cats 

caused by sharp pieces of bone which lodge in the thoracic esophagus .

Complications of obstruction of esophagus 

In cattle , prevent regurgitation of gases formed in rumen  with tempanitis of that organ which is fatal after some hours , if tempanitis without this complication , death occur in about three days due to local gangrene (  from compressed blood vessels ) and resultant toxaemia .

In dog , in partial obstruction results in vomiting after a few minutes from eating .

If  foreign body is not removed , in few weeks  repeating stretching wall just above obstruction will produce sac like dilatation usually unilateral  due to accumulation food above foreign body and this called esophageal diverticulum . 

Parasitic diseases  

Spirocerca lupi , which penetrate mucosa and submucosa of lower esophagus forming sub epithelial fibrous nodules which bulge into the lumen causing minimal interference in esophagus function .