a 1 year old male Pug.
3 days history of anorexia and lethargy.
Painful abdomen.
WBC-21,000.
febrile
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There are several small intestinal loops distended with gas, some measure 3x hight of a vertebral body. The rest of the small intestinal loops are mildly distended with fluid.
On the VD projection some of the SI segments are more than twice the width of other SI segments.
Diagnosis:
Foreign body and small intestinal obstruction. A rubber toy was removed from the jujuneum.
Discussion:
The size of the small intestine should not exceed in diameter the dorsal -ventral width of the body of a lumbar vertebra or three times the width of the 13th rib.
Also, no segment should exceed the average diameter of the remainder of small intestine by more than 50%.
The duodenum is generally a bit larger in diameter than the rest of the small intestine.
It is important to be sure you are looking at dilated small intestine rather than colon which is normally larger. Always try to locate the colon.
A common mistake is to look only for distention with gas as a sign of intestinal obstruction. See case number 1 for an example of an obstruction in which the distended bowl loop is distended with granular material and not with gas
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