The Effects of Vagotomy on the Abomasum in Calves

Abomasal disorders of calves with total vagotomy, operated on at 1 week old, were investigated with radiography and protein gene product (PGP) 9.5 immunohistochemistry. Radiographic findings indicated abomasal atony with dilatation in all calves 2 weeks after vagotomy, while 4 weeks after vagotomy abomasal dilatation was detected in 2 calves and another 2 calves showed dilatation and impaction. The densities of PGP 9.5-immunoreactive nerves in the tunica muscularis decreased significantly in the corpus region of the greater curvature 2 weeks after vagotomy and in the pyloric region of the lesser curvature 4 weeks after vagotomy, and it was at its lowest 4 weeks after vagotomy in all regions examined. In conclusion, abomasal dilatation and/or impaction in vagotomized calves confirmed by radiography were related with a decreased frequency of nerves in the tunica muscularis of the abomasum.