This photograph is from the mouth of a pig. It is difficult to orient, but there are a couple of teeth toward 4:00 o'clock. The snout is at 11:00 o'clock and the tongue is in the middle. I would like to assume that the shiny white area on the tongue and perhaps the paler patches on the margin of the tongue toward the snout are flaps of mucosa that have become loosened.
Do you think this pig might have pemphigus? Why not?
He actually might have, but more likely this pig suffers from an infectious disease.
What are the diseases that might create this lesion in the pig? Would you like to look elsewhere in this pig? I think it would be a good idea.
How would you discriminate between the diseases on your list of possibilities by looking at this pig?
The key diagnostic feature is to recognize that the lesion is now or may have been vesicular. After that, the differential diagnosis is easy.
If we look at this photograph and assume that this animal cohabited with the pig in the previous photograph, then you should be able to make a somewhat more specific diagnosis. Your list should get shorter. How short should your list be now?
I would say that based on looking at the pig alone your might have four diseases on your list and having looked at this ox, you would have dismissed two of them.
How does that match up with what you were thinking?
