Anatomical considerations, small size and elevated position of
foramen, length and freedom of mesentery of jejunum; spare diet,
draught, straining, rolling, colic. Symptoms: of intestinal
obstruction only, lesion found at necropsy.
The foramen of Winslow is a comparatively small opening between the
lesser curvature of the stomach and the liver, and between the gullet
and its cardiac ligament on the left side and the gastro-hepatic omentum
on the left. With its elevated and anterior position in the abdomen it
would seem to be little exposed to this kind of accident, yet a number
of recorded instances in the horse, show that it is certainly not
immune. The great mobility of the jejunum, owing to the extra length of
its mesentery is believed to be the essential predisposing cause. A
spare diet, or one which is in small bulk, allows the comparatively
empty gut to pass more readily through the small opening. Severe efforts
in draught and straining in defecation and parturition are also invoked
as means of pressing the jejunum through the orifice. So with the
concussions attendant on falls and the unwonted positions taken in
decubitus and rolling on the back in wantonness or colic.
_Symptoms_ of this lesion are essentially those of intestinal
obstruction, with usually a rapid and fatal course. An accurate
_diagnosis_ is impossible during life.