Every year one of the highlights of the American Association of Equine Practitioners' convention is the Milne Lecture, named for past president and distinguished life member Frank J. Milne. Each year a different speaker is chosen and honored with an award. This year the presenter was Alfred Merritt, DVM, MS, of the University of Florida, who spoke on "The Equine Stomach: A Personal Experience (1963-2003)." Merritt's presentation highlighted advances made over the last 40 years in the understanding of how the equine stomach functions and its related diseases. His presentation had a special emphasis on equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS), and slides of his presentation helped attendees visualize the concepts.

Merritt has been involved in research into gastrointestinal physiology and pathophysiology, receiving numerous awards for his work. He has been the Appleton Endowed Professor in Equine Studies at the University of Florida since 1998. Merritt has published many articles in research journals and chapters in veterinary textbooks, with a majority of them about equine gastroenterology.

Basic Anatomy

Merritt described the various components of mucosal anatomy (or the mucous membranes of the stomach), which include the squamous (non-glandular), fundic glandular, cardiac glandular, and the pyloric glandular regions. He noted that the fundic glandular region is where acid is made. Using a photograph taken by endoscopic exam of the horse's stomach, Merritt pointed out how the glandular region is redder than the squamous region, and the margo plicatus is the line between the non-glandular and the glandular regions. The pylorus is the opening from the stomach into the small intestine, with the duodenum being the first part of the small intestine. The pyloric sphincter is usually open most of the time