Endometriosis in a Rhesus Monkey.

Abstract

Spontaneous endometriosis was found in a 15-year-old female rhesus monkey. Macroscopically, there was thickening of the intestinal wall, mesenterium, and the gastrocolic omentum. Sporadic nodules were noted in the serosa of the jejunum and ileum. Histopathologically, a large number of glandular tubules along with massive connective tissue was observed in the serosa and subserosa. The glandular tubules were covered with mono-or multilayered epithelial cells with ciliary structures protruding into the glandular lumen. The connective tissue was composed of mesh-like fiber, fibroblast-like cells, and tortuous blood vessels. The glandular tubules and the connective tissue were similar to the glands and interstitial tissue in the endometrium. (J Toxicol Pathol 2001; 14: 313-315)

Characteristics of histologically confirmed endometriosis in cynomolgus monkeys

“…Despite intensive research into endometriosis in the past, the underlying pathobiology of the disease is far from being well understood, which means that animal models of the disease are crucial for further research in this area. Because of the anatomical similarity with human reproductive organs, endometriosis of non-human primates (NHP) is considered to be a possible candidate for researching the disease ( Story and Kennedy, 2004 ; Braundmeier and Fazleabas, 2009 ; Yamanaka et al ., 2012 ), and reports have described the spontaneous endometriosis of the baboon ( Cornillie et al ., 1992 ; Dick et al ., 2003 ; Dehoux et al ., 2011 ), the rhesus monkey ( Ito et al ., 2001 ) and the cynomolgus monkey ( Macaca fascicularis ) ( Fanton and Hubbard, 1983 ; Ami et al ., 1993 ; Cline et al ., 2008 ). The most intensively investigated of these is endometriosis in the baboon, because baboons are larger, which makes it easier to obtain tissue samples with laparoscopies and to perform complex surgery ( Braundmeier and Fazleabas, 2009 ; D'Hooghe et al ., 2009 ).…”