STONE MARTEN DIES FROM MEGAESOPHAGUS

A stone marten (Martes foina) was brought to a wildlife rescue center with complaints of vomiting. Despite treatment, the animal eventually died and was referred to us for necropsy. Vomiting food can have various causes, usually related to infectious diseases. In this case, however, we have seen a particularly interesting case of a non-infectious cause: the megaesophagus.

A marked dilation and overfilling of the esophagus into the chest cavity with pressure on surrounding lungs.

In several animal species, megaesophagus is a known pathology. In this, the esophagus dilates and loses its normal contractions, causing food to accumulate and not be passed on to the stomach and intestines. This can lead to obstruction, choking, pressure on surrounding organs in the chest cavity and eventually death. A dilated esophagus can be congenital or acquired after damage to the nerves or the esophagus itself.

In the stone marten we examined, we saw a marked dilation of the esophagus at the level of the thoracic region, with the overfilled esophagus exerting pressure on the surrounding lungs. Most of the thoracic cavity was occupied by the megaesophagus. The remainder of the gastrointestinal tract was empty, indicating a clear obstruction just anterior to the diaphragm. When examining the esophagus itself, we noted multiple ulcerative lesions on the mucosa of the dilated portion.

The dilated esophagus just before the esophageal hiatus (*) in the diaphragm shows ulcerative lesions (X). There was no longer any passage of food to the rest of the esophagus, stomach and intestines.

Whether the megaesophagus in this case was congenital or acquired is unclear. The congested lungs and space occupied in the chest cavity may have led to the death of the stone marten.