Follicular choristoma in the third eyelid of an eclectus parrot ().

Case Description: A 1-year-old male eclectus parrot () with a 3- to 4-month history of blepharospasm in the right eye was referred to a veterinary medical teaching hospital for further evaluation. Conventional medical treatments had been ineffective. The referring avian specialist had plucked a suspected ectopic feather from the right eye 6 weeks prior to the referral evaluation.

Gastrointestinal pythiosis with concurrent presumptive gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis in a Boxer dog.

A 2-year-old female spayed Boxer dog was presented for a 1-month history of progressive hemorrhagic diarrhea with tenesmus and weight loss despite trial courses of antibiotics and diet change. Abdominal ultrasound revealed severe, focal thickening, and loss of normal architecture of the colonic wall with abdominal lymphadenomegaly. Dry-mount fecal cytology, performed on several consecutive days, consistently revealed numerous, round, 16-20 μm structures with basophilic, granular content, and a thin cell wall.

Correlating Gastrointestinal Histopathologic Changes to Clinical Disease Activity in Dogs With Idiopathic Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Prior studies have failed to detect a convincing association between histologic lesions of inflammation and clinical activity in dogs with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We hypothesized that use of a simplified histopathologic scoring system would improve the consistency of interpretation among pathologists when describing histologic lesions of gastrointestinal inflammation. Our aim was to evaluate the correlation of histopathologic changes to clinical activity in dogs with IBD using this new system.

Novel Poxvirus in Proliferative Lesions of Wild Rodents in East Central Texas, USA.

Northern pygmy mice from 2 localities in East Central Texas, USA, had proliferative epidermal lesions on the tail and feet. Electron microscopy of lesion tissue revealed poxvirus. Phylogenetic analyses indicated the virus differed 35% from its closest relatives, the Chordopoxvirinae.

Association of fecal calprotectin concentrations with disease severity, response to treatment, and other biomarkers in dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathies.

Background: Calprotectin is a marker of inflammation, but its clinical utility in dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathies (CIE) is unknown.

Objective: Evaluation of fecal calprotectin in dogs with biopsy-confirmed CIE.

Animals: 127 dogs.

Analysis of Bacterial and Fungal Nucleic Acid in Canine Sterile Granulomatous and Pyogranulomatous Dermatitis and Panniculitis.

Next generation sequencing (NGS) studies are revealing a diverse microbiota on the skin of dogs. The skin microbiota of canine sterile granulomatous and pyogranulomatous dermatitis (SGPD) has yet to be investigated using NGS techniques. NGS targeting the 16S rRNA and ITS-1 region of bacterial and fungal DNA, respectively, were used to investigate if bacterial and fungal DNA were associated with skin lesions in cases of canine SGPD.

The feline skin microbiota: The bacteria inhabiting the skin of healthy and allergic cats.

Background: The skin is inhabited by a multitude of microorganisms. An imbalance of these microorganisms is associated with disease, however, the causal relationship between skin microbiota and disease remains unknown. To describe the cutaneous bacterial microbiota of cats and determine whether bacterial dysbiosis occurs on the skin of allergic cats, the skin surfaces on various regions of 11 healthy cats and 10 allergic cats were sampled.

Granulomatous Inflammatory Response to a Microchip Implanted in a Dog for Eight Years.

An 8 yr old neutered male springer spaniel dog was referred to Texas A&M University, College of Veterinary Medicine for a large, firm, fixed mass, located in the dorsal cervical tissue. The dog was otherwise healthy and had undergone microchip implantation approximately 8 yr prior. Radiographs, ultrasound, and microchip scanner confirmed the presence of a microchip within the mass.

Panfungal Polymerase Chain Reaction for Identification of Fungal Pathogens in Formalin-Fixed Animal Tissues.

Identification of fungal organisms often poses a problem for pathologists because the histomorphology of some fungal organisms is not specific, fresh tissues may not be available, and isolation and identification in culture may take a long time. The purpose of this study was to validate the use of panfungal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify fungal organisms from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded curls were tested from 128 blocks containing canine, feline, equine, and bovine tissues with cutaneous, nasal, pulmonary, and systemic fungal infections, identified by the presence of fungi in histologic sections.

Atypical cutaneous cryptococcosis in four cats in the USA.

Background: Cryptococcosis is an uncommon fungal infection in humans and mammals. Occasionally, cryptococcosis manifests as cutaneous lesions, either as an extension of nasal disease or as stand alone lesions unassociated with the nose. Histologically, these lesions are typically characterized by abundant organisms with mild granulomatous dermatitis.

Characterization of the cutaneous mycobiota in healthy and allergic cats using next generation sequencing.

Background: Next generation sequencing (NGS) studies have demonstrated a diverse skin-associated microbiota and microbial dysbiosis associated with atopic dermatitis in people and in dogs. The skin of cats has yet to be investigated using NGS techniques.

Hypothesis/objectives: We hypothesized that the fungal microbiota of healthy feline skin would be similar to that of dogs, with a predominance of environmental fungi, and that fungal dysbiosis would be present on the skin of allergic cats.

Ochronosis-like condition in a cat.

Background: Endogenous ochronosis is caused by a defect in the enzyme homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase (HGD), which results in abnormal pigment deposition in the skin and urine abnormalities. Ochronosis previously has not been described histologically or ultrastructurally in a domestic animal species.

Hypothesis/objectives: To describe the clinical, histopathological and ultrastructural findings in a case of aberrant pigmentation in a cat with features that resemble ochronosis.

Congenital dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) in Sprague Dawley rats: a case series.

Background: Epidermolysis bullosa is a rare skin disease caused by defects in the basement membrane and/or other dermoepidermal junction components.

Hypothesis/objectives: We describe a series of spontaneous cases of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) in a colony of Sprague Dawley rats investigated with histopathology, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and inheritance pattern.

Animals: Four, 4-day-old pups from a litter of Sprague Dawley rats developed blistering, haemorrhagic skin lesions and were euthanized.

Serum and fecal canine α1-proteinase inhibitor concentrations reflect the severity of intestinal crypt abscesses and/or lacteal dilation in dogs.

Gastrointestinal (GI) protein loss, due to lymphangiectasia or chronic inflammation, can be challenging to diagnose. This study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of serum and fecal canine α1-proteinase inhibitor (cα1PI) concentrations to detect crypt abscesses and/or lacteal dilation in dogs. Serum and fecal cα1PI concentrations were measured in 120 dogs undergoing GI tissue biopsies, and were compared between dogs with and without crypt abscesses/lacteal dilation.

What is living on your dog's skin? Characterization of the canine cutaneous mycobiota and fungal dysbiosis in canine allergic dermatitis.

To characterize the skin-associated fungal microbiota (mycobiota) in dogs, and to evaluate the influence of body site, individual dog or health status on the distribution of fungi, next-generation sequencing was performed targeting the internal transcribed spacer region. A total of 10 dogs with no history of skin disease were sampled at 10 distinct body sites consisting of haired and mucosal skin, and 8 dogs with diagnosed skin allergies were sampled at six body sites commonly affected by allergic disease. Analysis of similarities revealed that body site was not an influencing factor on membership or structure of fungal communities in healthy skin; however, the mucosal sites were significantly reduced in fungal richness.

Presentation, treatment, and outcome of squamous cell carcinoma in the perineal region of 9 goats.

Nine goats were treated for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the perineal and/or tail region. This case series is the first detailed description of clinical presentation and treatment of caprine SCC in North America and characterizes the potential risk factors and outcomes.

Fecal and urinary N-methylhistamine concentrations in dogs with chronic gastrointestinal disease.

Due to their ability to release inflammatory mediators, such as histamine, mast cells are potentially important in gastrointestinal disease. The purpose of this study was to measure N-methylhistamine (NMH), a histamine metabolite, in fecal and urine samples from dogs with chronic gastrointestinal disease. Fecal and urinary NMH concentrations were compared between dogs with chronic gastrointestinal disease and control dogs, and/or to control ranges.

The skin microbiome in healthy and allergic dogs.

Background: Changes in the microbial populations on the skin of animals have traditionally been evaluated using conventional microbiology techniques. The sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes has revealed that the human skin is inhabited by a highly diverse and variable microbiome that had previously not been demonstrated by culture-based methods. The goals of this study were to describe the microbiome inhabiting different areas of the canine skin, and to compare the skin microbiome of healthy and allergic dogs.

Cutaneous toxoplasmosis in two dogs.

Cutaneous toxoplasmosis has been previously reported in human beings, rarely reported in cats, and reported in 1 dog with systemic toxoplasmosis. The present report describes 2 cases of cutaneous toxoplasmosis in 2 dogs treated with immunosuppressive therapy. One of the dogs developed generalized cutaneous pustules and pruritus, and the other dog only had a single subcutaneous nodule.

Multiple eccrine poromas in the paw of a dog.

A 5-year-old, spayed female boxer dog presented to the referring veterinarian with a year-long history of swelling, ulceration and pain in the pawpad of the fourth digit of the right forelimb. Histologically, the pawpad was expanded by a mass composed of small polygonal cells forming broad bands and trabeculae within the lower epidermis that often infiltrated and replaced the overlying keratinocytes and that extended into the dermis. Lobules of eccrine glands within the deep dermis occasionally had one or more eccrine ducts that were lined by neoplastic ductal epithelial cells that formed papillary projections lined by one to two layers of neoplastic cells.

A case series of thermal scald injuries in dogs exposed to hot water from garden hoses (garden hose scalding syndrome).

In this report, we present a series of cases of thermal burns (scalds) in dogs resulting from exposure to hot water from a garden hose that had been lying in the sun. These dogs typically inhabited the southern and western regions of the USA, where the recorded high temperatures often exceed 32°C (90°F) during the warm summer months. Dogs with thermal scald injury in these cases presented with linear thermal burns along the dorsum, in addition to a variety of other macroscopic lesions that were dependent upon the degree of burn exposure and ranged from local erythema to ulcerated, necrotic and sloughing skin.

Correlating clinical activity and histopathologic assessment of gastrointestinal lesion severity: current challenges.

There has been increasing awareness that the severity of histopathologic lesions does not always correlate with the severity of clinical signs. Several grading systems for gastrointestinal histopathologic lesions have been generated, but there has been no widespread acceptance of one system. The World Small Animal Veterinary Association sponsored a gastrointestinal study group that produced a template of histologic changes in the gastrointestinal tract of the feline and canine in an attempt to generate widespread acceptance of a grading system.