Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Spayed female rabbit with hormone tumor causing behavior changes
By Baine, Katherine et al.·Published in Case Reports in Veterinary Medicine·2014·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, 2407 River Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA, United States·View original on Crossref →
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Original publication title: Elevated Testosterone and Progestin Concentrations in a Spayed Female Rabbit with an Adrenal Cortical Adenoma
- Species:
- rabbit
Plain-English summary
A 10-year-old spayed female rabbit was brought in because she had been acting aggressively and inappropriately urinating and defecating for the past eight months. Tests showed she had high levels of hormones like testosterone and progesterone, and an ultrasound revealed a small tumor on her left adrenal gland. After further examination, it was confirmed that she had an adrenal cortical adenoma, which is a type of tumor. This case is notable as it is the first detailed report of this condition in a female rabbit.
People also search for: rabbit behavior change · spayed rabbit aggression · adrenal tumor in rabbits · inappropriate urination in rabbits
Abstract
This case was described briefly in a recent book chapter (Lennox AM, Fecteau KA: 2014, Endocrine disease. In: BSAVA Manual of Rabbit Medicine, eds. Meredith A, Lord B, pp 274–276. British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Gloucester, UK). In the previous description, the tumor was described as a pheochromocytoma; however, further evaluation suggested that it more closely resembled an adrenal cortical adenoma. A 10-year-old, spayed female rabbit was presented for a behavior change of 8 months’ duration. The rabbit was inappropriately urinating and defecating, as well as demonstrating aggressive behaviors such as chasing, biting, and mounting various objects. The rabbit had elevated progesterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, and testosterone concentrations, and ultrasound examination of the abdomen showed a round, homogenous nodule measuring 1.1 × 0.8 × 0.9 cm in the region of the left adrenal gland. Necropsy revealed a unilateral adrenal cortical adenoma. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first complete description of a female rabbit with an adrenal cortical adenoma documented in the literature.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Crossref: https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/239410