Equine Practice IN PRACTICE. NOVEMBER 1984 Colic:

'a name for severe paroxysmal griping pain of the bowel or other parts; also for the affections themselves'. Texts on equine husbandry, even now, accurately describe the sympto-matology of the condition and underline the possible fatal outcome of the syndrome, but little explanation is given of the aetiology. Most commonly colic is accepted as being of gastrointestinal origin though abdominal pain will occasionally arise from genitourinary disturbances. Equines frequently present with abdominal pain though in most cases (80 per cent) spon-taneous recovery occurs in one to two hours. Statistics on morbidity and mortality are, probably, impossible to derive but in one series of 352 routine post mortem examinations colic was the most common single cause of death. In a more recent survey 33 per cent of routine post mortem examinations found the cause of death to be related to some alimentary disturbance, about half (14 per cent) of which were classified as 'colic'. The recent proliferation of amateur horsemasters in the United Kingdom and the high cost of land are liable to result in poorer standards of husbandry and, whatever the exact aetiology of equine colic, poor manage-ment is more likely to increase its incidence than to reduce it. A knowledge of possible aetiology and pathogenetic path-ways will lead to improved diagnosis and, most importantly, rapid decision making when a colic case is presented. In order to understand the aetiopathogenesis of different colics it is convenient to classify them in some way. Frequently classification is made on the grounds of presenting signs and, or, pathological findings but it is perhaps more pertinent to classify on the grounds of alterations in normal physiology (ie, a true 'aetiological ' classification) as shown in the table. Any one or a combination of the aetiological factors may be involved to a greater or lesser extent in the production of the syndromes listed below. Main aetiological features in colic Classification of colics on aetiological or symptomatic ground