Atrophic enteritis - Atlas of swine pathology

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Possible causes: Porcine epidemic diarrheaRotavirus infectionTransmissible gastroenteritisOther

Photo of the small intestine of a suckling piglet with diarrhoea whose intestinal wall looks flaccid, very thin and with and a watery content. Microscopically, the lesion seen is an atrophy and a fusion of villi, and the vacuolization of the apical enterocytes. This lesion is characteristic of the infection with enteric viruses, such as rotavirus and coronavirus. In case of the periweaning failure to thrive syndrome (PFTS) we can also see a thinner wall (macroscopically) and the atrophy and fusion of microvilli (microscopically). The diagnosis is atrophic catarrhal enteritis.