Gastrointestinal disease in rabbits

摘要

Disease of the gastrointestinal tract is one of the most common clinical entities affecting rabbits. Knowledge of the rabbit's digestive tract anatomy and physiology is very helpful in formulating an optimal nutritional plan for rabbits as well as understanding disease processes and their treatment. The rabbit has a well-developed cardiac sphincter between the caudal esophagus and the stomach so is unable to vomit. The simple glandular stomach of the rabbit has thinner walls than that of a dog or acat but otherwise is very similar. A healthy rabbit's stomach should always contain ingesta. Due to coprophagy (see below), the stomach is still half full 24 hours into a fasting period, and some gastric ingesta is present even after 11 days of fasting.