Overview of Diseases of the Abomasum in Cattle

Abomasal disorders include left displaced abomasum, right displaced abomasum, abomasal volvulus, abomasal ulceration, and impaction. Displacement or volvulus occurs most commonly in dairy cows but can also occur in dairy bulls and calves. Except for abomasal volvulus, abomasal displacement is rare in beef cattle and essentially undiagnosed in small ruminants. Less-common disorders include abomasitis caused by ingested sand or gravel (abomasitis geosedimentosa), clostridial abomasitis, incarceration of the abomasum in umbilical hernias, and abomasal neoplasia. Abomasal ulcers are seen in dairy and beef cattle, in calves, and in South America camelids; they are rarely diagnosed in small ruminants. Impactions can be primary, which is most frequent in beef cattle, or secondary, which develop most often in dairy cows as a form of vagal indigestion. Impactions may have a hereditary basis in Suffolk sheep.