White Scours in Piglets; I. Stereomicroscopy of the Mucosa of the Small Intestine

Abstract

The stereomicroscopic structure of the mucosa of the small intestine, both outside and overlying the areas with Peyer's patches, of 3-week-old piglets with white scours differed from that of clinically normal piglets of the same age. Morphological features of the villi in the clinically normal piglets varied according to their location in the small intestine. In piglets with white scours the mucosal pattern of all portions of the small intestine was changed. There was a strong correlation between the villous abnormality and a high level of total fat in the contents of the large intestine.