[Diagnosis and therapy of guttural pouch diseases in horses].

Using a fibreoptic endoscope ("small gastroscope" with outside diameter of 9.3 mm) a simple and sparing inspection of the guttural pouch is performed. The flap-type tube cover is opened by means of medial leverage with a guidance probe shifted through the work duct of the endoscope. The same procedure is used in diagnostic specimen collection and therapeutical measures such as irrigations. Guttural pouch topography and pathological disorders are illustrated by endoscopic photography. The different diseases such as follicular hyperplasia, ascending pharyngeal catarrh, perforating abscesses of the retropharyngeal lymphnodes, empyema and chondroid formation, guttural pouch mycosis leading to arrosion of the carotid artery, tympanites of the guttural pouch in foals caused by congenital defects of the eustachian tube flap and rarely observed tumors are discussed.