Canine Gastroenterology

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is a complex organ that has

paradoxical roles of digesting and absorbing food whilst acting as a

barrier to pathogens. It is the

largest immune organ in the body and

surveys ingested food antigens, reacts to potential pathogens, and

interacts with a population of commensal microbes (the

microbiome)

that appears critical to the overall health of the animal. It is also

crucial to understand that signs of GI dysfunction may not be the result

of a

primary GI problem. Diseases in other organ systems may

secondarily cause GI signs, so the GI tract could be suffering

collateral damage. The aim of the Canine

Gastroenterology textbook is precisely to give space to the explanation of this complexity.

The book is divided into six sections, starting with the diagnostic

approach to specific clinical presentations that may or may not be due

to GI disease, with each chapter including an algorithmic pathway. A

section on diagnostic methods is followed by sections about the

management of GI diseases and non-specific and specific drug treatments.

The fifth section covers diffuse inflammatory, infectious and

neoplastic diseases of the GI tract. Specific diseases of each area of

the tract from esophagus to large intestine are found in the final

section