Extralobar pulmonary sequestration in two pinniped species

Abstract

Two cases of extralobar pulmonary sequestrations from a walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) and a Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) are described in the present study. Grossly, an independent, soft unilocular cystic mass was found within the abdominal cavities of both animals, adherent to the diaphragm in O. rosmarus and attached to the cardia of the stomach in E. jubatus. Histopathologically, the cysts were lined by pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium with abundant goblet cells, while the wall comprised of glands, hyaline cartilage, bronchiole- and alveolus-like structures, smooth muscles, and large, well-developed elastic and muscular arteries. The pinniped cases presented are exceptionally rare and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, marks the first descriptions of this congenital anomaly in wildlife.