514Brief Communications prevented a favorable long-term outcome. At the present stage of understanding of feline thymomas, it would seem prudent to offer a guarded prognosis even when successful resection of the primary lesion has been done. Sarcomatoid Renal Adenocarcinoma in a Cat J. 0. BRITT, C. P. RYAN, and E. B. HOWARD ReferencesA fourteen-year-old neutered female domestic cat had chronic weight loss and anorexia. The complete blood count, and serum electrolytes and chemical values, including urea nitrogen and creatinine, were normal. The urine was amber and had a specific gravity of 1.026 and a pH of 6. There was 2-plus protein and a trace of blood, measured by a dipstick. Microscopically there were I0 to 15 red blood cells per high power field. An abdominal mass was palpable and present radiographically at the left kidney, displacing the intestine posteriorly and to the right.The cat was killed painlessly after two weeks. At necropsy, both kidneys were irregular, enlarged, and pale. They were encased within dense white tissue masses with dark mottling. These masses extended posteriorly along the ureters and sublumbar musculature. Involvement was most extensive around the left kidney and between the kidneys. The urinary bladder and other abdominal organs were not involved but numerous 1-to 3-mm whitish foci were scattered on the pleural surfaces of the lungs.Microscopically, the neoplasm in the kidney sections was centered in the cortex and consisted primarily of solid sheets of poorly differentiated carcinoma cells with round and irregular open nuclei and plentiful mitoses (figs. 1, 2). Most nuclei had a single large central nucleolus but some nuclei were basophilic and homogeneous. Most cells had a large amount of pale eosinophilic cytoplasm with indistinct cell margins. There were numerous scattered tumor giant cells. Some of these had hyperchromatic nuclei with little cytoplasm and others had vesicular nuclei and plentiful eosinophilic cytoplasm. There were attempts to form occasional poorly differentiated tubules lined by pleomorphic cells, and a few residual glomeruli and tubules were compressed within the neoplasm. Undifferentiated areas of the neoplasm were represented by irregular oval and fusiform cells with vesicular nuclei and indistinct cytoplasm. The neoplasm in the medulla was accompanied by extensive congestion and hemorrhage and there were large areas of necrosis and suppurative inflammation throughout the tumor, without encapsulation. Carcinoma cells penetrated the renal capsule and infiltrated the peritoneal and sublumbar fat. The capsule was largely
The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is a large flightless bird native to Australia. It belongs to the ratite group, which also includes ostriches, rheas, and cassowaries. The emu is reared commercially for its meat, oil, and skin; the skin is made into a high quality leather used in the manufacture of boots, handbags, etc. Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae infection occurs widely in nature. In its septicemic form, the disease is commonly designated as erysipelas. It has most frequently been reported in pigs, but natural infections have been reported in sheep, cows, horses, dogs, and mice. 6 Wildlife known to play host to E. rhusiopathiae include the opossum 7 and white-tailed deer. 3 Erysipelothrix has also been isolated from fish, fish slime, and shellfish. 6 Erysipelothrix infections have been reported in chukars, 4 various wild birds, 1 waterfowl, and domestic chickens and turkeys. 2 There is only one reported case of Erysipelothrix infection in emus. 5 This is the first documented case of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae infection in emus in North America. An 18-month-old male emu weighing 28.5 kg was submitted to the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission Diagnostic Laboratory for necropsy within 12 hours of death. The bird was 1 of 11 penmates hatched on site. The clinical description was of a listless bird slumping into a sitting posture 11 hours before death. It could rise from recumbency when urged. Pink material had been observed by the owner in the bird's feces, and the emu had been described as vomiting prior to death. The 10 surviving emus in the pen showed no signs of illness then or subsequently. Necropsy examination revealed a firm, swollen liver and an enlarged spleen (2.5 × 10 cm) that was dark red and soft. The proventriculus contained gray inspissated mucus. The gizzard was empty except for a few ounces of irregularly shaped brown pebbles. The distal small intestine had segmentally reddened serosa. The wall was thickened, and the lumen contained a pink exudate that formed a cast around the scant fecal material present. The meningeal vessels of the brain were prominent. The kidneys were dark red and soft. Swabs from the liver, spleen, heart, and kidney were aerobically cultured at 37 C on tryptic soy agar a with 5% sheep erythrocytes, MacConkey agar a and Columbia CNA agar a with 5% sheep erythrocytes. In addition, portions of the organs and intestine were cultured for Salmonella by incubating macerated tissues in selenite brilliant green enrichment broth with sulfa a at 37 C. This enrichment was followed by culture
No abstract
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.