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. 1981 Jun 1;22(2):218–225. doi: 10.1186/BF03547511

Swine Dysentery: A Scanning Electron Microscopic Investigation

Svinedysenteri: En skanning elektron-mikroskopisk undersøkelse

Jon Teige Jr 1,2,✉, Thor Landsverk 1,2, Arve Lund 1,2, Hans Jørgen Larsen 1,2
PMCID: PMC8300434  PMID: 7304363

Abstract

An investigation by scanning electron microscope was performed on colonic specimens from 4 conventionally reared pigs, 2 of which were suffering from swine dysentery (SD) after inoculation with Treponema hyodysenteriae in pure culture. In pigs with SD dilated cryptal openings surrounded by uneven mucosa with furrows and ridgeformations were found in areas with scattered pseudomembranes. The treponemes were numerous on the mucosal surface but seemed only to penetrate damaged epithelial cells. Freeze-fractured sections from the same pigs revealed dilated crypts where the microvilli were short, irregular and markedly reduced in number possibly due to change in cell kinetics. The present study seems to indicate that epithelial attachment and penetration of treponemes are of minor importance in SD pathogenesis.

Keywords: swine dysentery, scanning electron microscopy, Pseudomembran eous colitis, Treponema hyodysenteriae

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