Stomachs from 3,354 fattening pigs were examined at slaughter during the period from September 1980 to August 1981, Pigs of both sexes and Landrace x Hampshire crossbreds were included in the present studies, and they weighed about 60-120kg.
Gross pathologic alterations of the stomach were classified as normal, epitnelial change, erosion, ulcer and scar formation. Representative tissue sections were taken from the stomach lesions at random and fixed in 10% buffered formalin. Cut sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and examined histopathologically. The results obtained in the present studies were as follows.
1. In the seasonal prevalence of gastric ulceration, severe ulceration with erosion was shown during the Autumn and Winter, whereas mild ulceration was mainly shown during the Spring and Summer.
2. Of the 3,354 stomachs of the pigs, 20.8% were found to be normal. Of the rest, 40% had epithelial changes, followed by erosion (24.7%), ulcer (13.6%) and scar formation (0.9%), respectively.
3. In the prevalence of ulcers in the different regions of the stomach, the fundic region had the highest\ rate (61.6%) of ulceration, followed by cardiac (21.7%), esophageal (15.0%) and pyloric region (1.7%).
4. The principal gross changes were severe epithelial changes with keratotic proliferation in the esophageal region, and in the fundic region severe folding of the stomach wall was covered with bloody mucous exudates.
5. Main histopathological changes were inflammatory cell infiltrations in most cases, hemorrhages in acute ulcers and prominent proliferation of granulation tissues in chronic ulcers.
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