Phaeochromocytoma in two coatimundi (Nasua nasua)

Intestinal T-cell lymphoma in a coati (Nasua nasua) - Short communication

A 10-year-old female coati (Nasua nasua) was necropsied after an 8-day history of apathy, weight loss and dehydration. Gross changes consisted of multifocal to coalescing nodules ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 cm in diameter in the wall of the small intestine, adjacent to the mesentery and in the mesenteric lymph nodes. Histologically, neoplastic CD3-positive lymphocytes infiltrated all layers of the intestine, as well as the mesenteric adipose tissue and mesenteric lymph nodes. Based on the pathological and immunohistochemical findings, a diagnosis of intestinal T-cell lymphoma was made.

Disseminated pheochromocytoma in a North American river otter (Lontra canadensis)

A 21-yr-old male North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) with a chronic history of degenerative osteoarthritis was evaluated for acute posterior paralysis. Because no definitive cause was identified and a poor prognosis was expected, the otter was euthanatized. A malignant neoplasm of adrenal gland origin with disseminated metastases to the central nervous system, lymph nodes, diaphragm, pancreas, spleen, and liver was diagnosed on postmortem examination. No clinical signs of disseminated neoplasia had been noted throughout the otter's history. The adrenal neoplasm was composed of nests of epithelial cells surrounded by a fine fibrovascular stroma. Neoplastic cells were immunohistochemically positive for chromogranin A, PGP9.5, metencephalin, and endorphin and negative for melan A and inhibin, confirming a diagnosis of a malignant pheochromocytoma. On the basis of the necropsy finding, metastasis of the pheochromocytoma might have contributed to the observed clinical signs.

Malignant pheochromocytoma in a pig

Endocrine tumors are rarely observed in pigs, and pheochromocytomas have been only punctually described. The current report describes a white and firm, 15-cm in diameter, neoplastic mass located in the adrenal gland with metastasis to regional lymph nodes in a 2.5-year-old sow. The masses had marked desmoplasia that supported a population of polygonal-to-spindle-shaped neoplastic cells arranged into cords and packets within a delicate fibrovascular stroma. Immunohistochemical staining of the tumor was positive for chromogranin and negative for neurofilament protein in adrenal and lymph node masses, which was characteristic of a malignant pheochromocytoma.

Congenital follicular dysplasia in five related coatimundis (Nasua nasua)

We report a congenital follicular dysplasia in five coatis from four different litters of the same parents born between 1996 and 2001. These coatis were born apparently alopecic with the entire body covered by very short dark hairs, with secondary lichenification of the skin, crusting and scaling. The main histopathological feature consisted of premature cornification of the cortical cells of the hair shaft. Cells were already fully cornified below the Adamson's fringe, leading to a disorganized, fragmented and constricted hair shaft. Based on the history of the animals and the nature of the lesions, a genetic defect in hair shaft keratinization was suspected.