hardware disease

Meanings

1. Traumatic gastrointestinal puncture and infection in ruminants (especially cattle) and birds that ingest a sharp object (in livestock usually a metal object such as wire or a fastener); in cattle it usually includes reticuloperitonitis and thus in practice is usually metonymically synonymous with traumatic reticuloperitonitis.

Etymology

From the fact that in cattle it is usually caused by hardware such as a piece of wire or a fastener (e.g., fence wire, nail, screw).