Vanda M. Lucke

Renal Carcinoma in the Dog

Thirty-three cases of canine renal carcinoma reported between 1907 and 1972 are reviewed, and clinical and pathological features of nine other cases seen in Bristol between 1966 and 1975 are described. Clinical features frequently include nonspecific signs of anorexia and weight loss. The age range of affected dogs varies from 3 to 15 years, with a mean of 7.1 years. Male dogs appear to be affected more frequently than females, but there is no breed predilection. The clinical behaviour of canine renal carcinoma is variable, with 4 years the longest survival time after nephrectomy. The primary tumours characteristically are large and unilateral and occupy most of one pole of a kidney. Metastatic spread can involve a wide range of organs, the commonest being lymph nodes and lung. Solid, tubular and papillary patterns are common. Clear cell carcinoma is uncommon.

Lobular Dissecting Hepatitis in the Dog

Ascites and acquired portosystemic shunts were consistent findings in six dogs with a chronic hepatitis of unusual morphology and unknown etiology. The hepatitis was characterized by a mixed inflammatory infiltrate and dissection of the lobular parenchyma by reticulin and fine collagen fibers. While limiting plates were disrupted by this process, portal inflammation was inconstant and seldom marked. Biopsy samples generally had very small, sublobular regenerative nodules, but larger nodules sometimes were present postmortem. Dilated vascular channels, representing sinusoids and portal venous radicles were a prominent feature of most affected livers. The lesions differ from previously documented chronic hepatitis in the dog, and from the chronic hepatitides in man.

A Lymphomatoid Granulomatosis of the Lungs in Young Dogs

Clinical signs in three young dogs with primary lung neoplasms included cough, weight loss and anorexia. Chest radiographs taken in the terminal stages of the disease showed nodular and diffuse consolidation of the lungs typical of primary neoplasms. Macroscopically the lungs were infiltrated by firm, pale tissue; similar tissue replaced the enlarged bronchial lymph nodes. In two dogs similar deposits were found also in the liver and spleen. The infiltrates were composed of atypical, polymorphous lymphoreticular cells. Invasion of pulmonary blood vessels and of bronchi and bronchioles was striking. The lesions closely resembled those of lymphomatoid granulomatosis, a rare human disease of unknown cause.

An immunohistochemical study of canine extramedullary plasma cell tumours

Twenty-three cases of dog plasma cell tumours were investigated for the presence of monoclonal cytoplasmic immunoglobulin light chain types and heavy chain classes. The peroxidase-antiperoxidase method was applied to formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues, available as stored blocks. Twenty tumours showed a monoclonal light chain type and heavy chain class pattern, two showed a monoclonal light chain type and a biclonal heavy chain class pattern, findings which confirmed the neoplastic nature of the plasma cells. One tumour did not stain with any of the antisera. The results indicate that the method reliably establishes the monoclonality and, consequently, the neoplastic nature of plasma cell proliferations.

Thyroid pathology in canine hypothyroidism

Biopsy or post mortem specimens from the thyroid glands of 7 dogs with clinical hypothyroidism were examined histologically. Six of the 7 cases were diagnosed histologically as lymphocytic thyroiditis which is characterized by widespread destruction and replacement of the gland by an infiltrate of lymphocytes, plasma cells and macrophages. The 7th case was characterized by fibrosis, with minimal inflammatory cell infiltration and might represent an end stage of lymphocytic thyroiditis. Five of the 7 dogs were female and 4 of these animals had shown clinical signs since 2 years of age. Comparisons are made with a previous report of functional lymphocytic thyroiditis in the pet dog and with similar conditions in man and an obese strain of White Leghorn poultry.

Histology of Salivary Gland Infarction in the Dog

Salivary gland infarction was found in two adult dogs. The main changes were ischaemic necrosis, capsular fibrosis and regenerative hyperplasia of surviving ductal epithelium. Necrosis of arterial tunica media and thrombosis were found only in the infarcted parts of the salivary glands. The lesions appeared to be confined to the salivary glands; no cause of the infarction was found.

Immunohistochemical staining of neoplastic and inflammatory plasma cell lesions in feline tissues

Two cases of feline plasmacytoma and nine cases of reactive plasma cell proliferations were examined for the presence of cytoplasmic immunoglobulin light chain types and heavy chain classes, by the peroxidase-anti-peroxidase technique on sections of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues. This immunohistochemical technique is an important aid to conventional histological techniques. It helps to differentiate between neoplastic and dense inflammatory plasma cell proliferations by determining the presence of one, or more than one, light chain types in the cells, which corresponds with their neoplastic or reactive nature.

An outbreak of hepatitis in marmosets in a zoological collection

12 marmosets of 3 different species died of hepatitis during a period of 5 months. The lesions closely resembled those of virus hepatitis in man but material from these animals and from in-contact marmosets failed to reveal the presence of hepatitis A. This together with certain aspects of the epidemiology of the disease suggests that the outbreak was not caused by a virus of human origin but possibly by a virus indigenous to the marmoset or tamarin.

Experimental pyelonephritis in the cat. 1. Gross and histological changes.

Abstract Young adult cats were given an intravenous injection of Escherichia coli after ligation of one ureter lasting 24 or 48 h. Ten cats injected with a human strain of E. coli (between 2·3 and 35·23 × 10 8 per kg) developed mild pyrexia. Some of the cats examined between 1 and 16 months later had a mild focal non-progressive pyelonephritis in the obstructed kidney. Injection of a feline strain E. coli (between 0·83 and 6·4 × 10 8 per kg) produced an acute bacteraemic illness and 6 of 10 cats died between 1 and 11 days after infection. Cats that survived the acute illness had extensive pyelonephritis and scarring in the obstructed kidney when examined between 17 days and 5 months after infection. The experiments indicate that, after temporary ligation of one ureter, intravenous injection of E. coli is followed by establishment of infection in the obstructed kidney. Renal infection with a feline strain of E. coli can progress to a stage of patchy pyelonephritis that resembles the naturally occurring lesion in the cat.

Plasma and urine biochemical changes in cats with experimental immune complex glomerulonephritis.

Biochemical changes in plasma and urine were monitored in six cats before and during the induction of immune complex-mediated glomerulonephritis (ICGN) by daily intravenous administration of human serum albumin (HSA). The earliest indication of renal dysfunction in the cats was hypoalbuminaemia, which occurred as early as 13 weeks before cats developed clinical signs of renal disease. Proteinuria occurred 2 to 3 weeks before clinical disease, but was sensitive in predicting renal pathology in two cats that did not develop clinical signs of disease. In addition, increased activities of several urinary enzymes were detected in affected cats, with measurement of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase and gamma-glutamyl transferase providing the earliest and most sensitive indication of renal damage. These plasma and urine measurements correlated more closely with the renal pathology, observed at postmortem, than clinical assessment of disease. It was concluded that ICGN in the cat could be diagnosed earliest by measurement of plasma protein concentration, whilst disease progress could be effectively monitored by including assays to measure urine protein and urine enzymes.