DIFFERENTIATING ENTEROPATHY-ASSOCIATED T-CELL LYMPHOMA TYPE 2 FROM INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE IN A SNOW LEOPARD (UNCIA UNCIA).

After a history of intermittent vomiting, endoscopic biopsies of stomach and duodenum were collected from a 13-yr-old male snow leopard (Uncia uncia). On microscopic examination, monomorphic small lymphocytes expanded the duodenal mucosa and occasionally formed intraepithelial nests. Immunohistochemistry of the infiltrating small lymphocytes in the mucosa and within the epithelium had strong, perimembranous labeling for CD3e, with few CD79a-positive lymphocytes located at the base of the villi. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for antigen receptor rearrangements (PARR) of feline T-cell receptor gamma (TCRG) detected a monoclonal cell population. The sequence of the PCR product was 100% homologous with the feline TCRG gene. By histology, immunophenotyping, and PARR testing, a final diagnosis of enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma, small cell type, was made. Homology in the nucleotide sequence between U. uncia and the domestic cat (Felis catus) indicates that feline PARR testing for TCRG may be diagnostic in snow leopards.

Technique for venipuncture of the transverse facial vein in the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis).

Through the use of operant conditioning, the authors developed a technique to facilitate obtaining blood samples from a black rhinoceros diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy. The technique involved operant conditioning to facilitate venipuncture of the transverse facial vein, at an anatomic landmark on the lateral side of the face ventral to the medial canthus of the eye, and dorsal to the lateral commissure of the mouth. The investigators used standard operant conditioning protocols to train the animal for desensitization to a needle puncture in the facial vein. Blood samples obtained from the facial location were free of excessive hemolysis and allowed for large volumes to be collected. The procedure was well-tolerated by the rhinoceros and could be performed regularly without complication. Zoo Biol. 35:570-573, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Gastric dilitation-volvulus in a Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens).

A 10-year-old male red panda presented acutely with symptoms of shock due to acute abdominal distress and respiratory compromise. Abdominal ultrasound confirmed a severely distended stomach for which passage of an orogastric tube for relief was unsuccessful. Intra-operatively, the stomach was found to be distended and torsed around its long axis supporting the diagnosis of Gastric dilitation-volvulus (GDV). The animal arrested and died intra-operatively and was submitted for necropsy with lesions supportive of the diagnosis of GDV. No risk factors for GDV were found to correlate between the panda and those described in domestic dogs. This case suggests that red pandas can be susceptible to this condition in captive settings.

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.