Colon tympany was confirmed by fluoroscopy in 27 dairy cattle over a period from March, 1978, to May, 1979. The general features were similar to those of bovine abomasal displacement. They were reduced appetite and milk yield, scanty feces, decreased ruminal motility, andketonuria. Auscultation and percussion of the right abdominal region revealed a high-pitched resonant sound similar to the pinging sound of right displacement of the abomasum (RDA).
However, careful auscultation and percussion of bovine cases of colon tympany fluoroscopically diagnosed suggested certain features available for the differentiation of colon tympany from RDA. In colon tympany, for example, a high-pitched resonant sound was audible only in a limited area. This area involved the upper half of the right abdominal wall, formed by the last three ribs. In RDA, this area was extensive and involved mainly the anteriorand upper half of the right abdominal wall from the eighth to the last rib. Sometimes, a pinging sound was audible only in an area bounded by the eighth to the tenth rib. It was only in very severe cases of abomatsal dilatation and displacement that the resonant sound could be heard in the area occupied by the last three ribs. In addition, the resonant soundin colon tympany was off and on; that is, often times it was audible, but sometimes it wasnot. In RDA, the pinging sound was audible throughout the course of disease. It is essential to make a differential diagnosis between the two conditions, since colon tympany requires only medical management, but an immediate surgical correction is necessary for RDA.
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