HERNIA THROUGH THE FORAMEN OF WINSLOW IN THE HORSE.
Anatomical considerations, small size and elevated position of foramen, length and freedom of mesentery of jejunum; spare diet, draught, straining, rolling, colic. Symptoms: of intestinal obstruction only, lesion found at necropsy.
The foramen of Winslow is a comparatively small opening between the lesser curvature of the stomach and the liver, and between the gullet and its cardiac ligament on the left side and the gastro-hepatic omentum on the left. With its elevated and anterior position in the abdomen it would seem to be little exposed to this kind of accident, yet a number of recorded instances in the horse, show that it is certainly not immune. The great mobility of the jejunum, owing to the extra length of its mesentery is believed to be the essential predisposing cause. A spare diet, or one which is in small bulk, allows the comparatively empty gut to pass more readily through the small opening. Severe efforts in draught and straining in defecation and parturition are also invoked as means of pressing the jejunum through the orifice. So with the concussions attendant on falls and the unwonted positions taken in decubitus and rolling on the back in wantonness or colic.
Symptoms of this lesion are essentially those of intestinal obstruction, with usually a rapid and fatal course. An accurate diagnosis is impossible during life.