Endoscopic evaluation of rumen in cattle (Bos Taurus)-A preliminary study

Twenty apparently healthy female cattle were selected for the study. Animals were withdrawn of feed and water for 48 hours. During this period, cattle were administered with dextrose normal saline (@10ml/kg IV twice daily) and were subjected to endoscopy every 12 hours. Animals were restrained in a chute and no sedation was followed. Endoscopy was performed using Olympus™ [GIF V70] flexible video endoscope. The endoscope was passed through the ventral nasal meatus, the pharynx and oesophagus and then into the reticulo-rumen. The entire rumen could be visualized clearly only when the animals were off feed and water for at least 36–48 hours and in some animals the ingesta had to be removed by lavage. The rumen appeared as pink with numerous papillae throughout its surface with different shapes. The procedure was well tolerated by all the cattle and satisfactory ruminal images could be obtained including biopsy.