Regional Ileitis in Pigs: Morphological and Pathogenetical Aspects

Twenty-seven weaned pigs with a wasting appearance were investigated. From a morphological point of view the pigs were divided into three groups. In the group of pigs with macro-scopical signs of regional ileitis, affected tissue showed substantial epithelial proliferation, and electron microscopic studies revealed the presence of microorganisms within the cytoplasm of the epithelial cells. There was a loss of, or only faint, enzymatic activity of alkaline phosphatase in the mucosal epithelium. In another group of five pigs there was no, or only slight, light microscopical signs of regional ileitis but presence of intracellular microorganisms. The enzymatic activity of the ileal epithelium was low. Low enzymatic activity of the ileal epithelium was observed in a third group of wasting pigs, which had no histological or electron microscopical signs of regional ileitis.