Gastric torsion, a rarely seen condition, is a 90-3600 twisting of the stomach upon itself, usually from left to right. It occurs most often in the large breeds of dogs such as the Great Dane, the St. Bernard and the Bloodhound. The common causes are the ingestion of large amounts of food or water, violent exercise or violent vomition. The typical clinical picture is the sudden onset of colic-like symptoms with a tense abdominal swelling just posterior to the rib cage. This abdominal swelling in turn will cause dyspnea, cyanosis and may develop into shock.