[Pathology and pathogenesis of coli dysentery and coli diarrhea in suckling piglets. 1. Studies on the pathomorphology of the gastrointestinal tract in coli dysentery as well as coli diarrhea in the suckling piglet].

The following findings were obtained from histomorphological examination of 45 piglets with coli-bacillosis (with serotypical Escherichia coli detected) and ten piglets with coli-diarrhoea (with non-serotypical E. coli detected): Diarrhoea accompanying either disease was not attributable to catarrhal or haemorrhagic gastro-enteritis. The mucous membrane of the gastro-insestinal tract remained histomorphologically intact in either disease. No change was recorded particularly from villous or surface epithelia and glandular epithelium, and the villous structure was not basically altered. Different degrees of hyper aemia of the gastro-intestinal mucous membrane and moderate oedematisation of the villous stroma were irregular findings. Adhesion of enteropathogenic E. coli to mucous membrane surface was observed but rarely and did not exhibit any visible relationship with the incidence in E. coli of L-antigen K88. In coli-bacillosis and coli-diarrhoea both the diarrhoea and morphological situation of the gastro-bacillosis tract were in conformity with the cholera-type "intestinal noninflammatory secretory diarrhoea" as caused by enterotoxins. Other issues relating to pathology and diagnosis are also discussed.