83 cases of an adenomatous tumor of the uterine mucosa have been observed in a colony of rabbits during the past 4 years The results of a clinical and pathological study of the tumor, together with a description of transplantation experiments are included in the present report.
The clinical histories of tumor bearing animals are similar in all cases. Discovery of the tumor is preceded by a long period of reproductive disturbance, and its subsequent course is one of slow, continuous growth which has terminated in death with metastasis in all animals held under observation for longer than 1 year.
Microscopically, the tumor shows an atypical alveolar structure, and its characteristics closely resemble those of an adenocarcinoma of the uterine fundus in women. Pathological changes similar to those observed in mice after treatment with estrogenic substances occur in the thyroid, suprarenal, pituitary and mammary glands.
Intraocular transplantation of the tumor has been successful, and at the present time the growth has been carried through 6 generations by serial transfer.
A series of deformities in the rabbit ranging from brachydactylia to acheiropodia have been described. Experimental breeding demonstrated that the occurrence of the deformities was determined by simple recessive hereditary factors and that the various types were genetically related and were not distinct hereditary entities.
Embryological investigation showed the first abnormal change was a dilatation of blood vessels in affected buds. This was followed by hemorrhage and necrosis of the parts involved. Sloughing subsequently occurred, and the deformity was completely expressed by the 25th day of fetal life.
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