Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Ovary tumor causing loss of appetite in a female corn snake
By Petterino, Claudio et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2006·Department of Public Health, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Undifferentiated tumor in the ovary of a corn snake (Elaphe guttata guttata).
- Species:
- reptile
Plain-English summary
A 6-year-old female corn snake was brought to the vet because she hadn't eaten for three weeks. X-rays showed a large mass in her abdomen, suggesting an enlarged ovary. The mass was surgically removed, and tests confirmed it was an undifferentiated carcinoma, a type of tumor. While this type of tumor is rare in reptiles, the surgery was successful, and the snake was treated for her condition.
People also search for: corn snake not eating · snake ovarian tumor treatment · corn snake surgery recovery
Abstract
A 6-year-old intact female corn snake (Elaphe guttata guttata) was presented with a 3-week history of anorexia. Coelomic radiographs revealed a 9 x 4 cm soft tissue opacity suggestive of a right ovarian enlargement. The mass (9 x 5 x 4 cm) was surgically removed, and multiple smears from tissue sections were stained with Diff-Quik. Multiple tissue samples from the mass were collected and fixed in formalin. Cytologic specimens were moderately cellular and contained light pink amorphous background material. The cells were primarily spindle-shaped with moderate to marked anisocytosis and anisokaryosis. Cells sometimes were round to polygonal, and rarely were arranged in small clusters. Macrophages occasionally were observed. Histologic specimens consisted of a highly cellular mass composed of pleomorphic, spindle-shaped cells and, occasionally, round to polygonal cells arranged in irregular fascicles. The neoplastic cells were immunoreactive for cytokeratin (AE1/AE3), smooth muscle actin, and skeletal muscle actin, but did not stain for vimentin or desmin. On the basis of the morphologic and immunohistochemical results, a diagnosis of ovarian undifferentiated carcinoma was made. In this report, we describe the challenges of using immunohistochemistry to diagnose this uncommon type of tumor in reptiles.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16511798/