Disease in captive wild mammals and birds : $b incidence, description, comparisonFox, Herbert
Science
Disease in captive wild mammals and birds : $b incidence, description, comparison
Fox, Herbert
Veterinary medicine
Tasmanian Devil (_Sarcophilus ursinus_). Inactive and rather on the
decline for several months. Chronic diffuse nephritis with acute
interstitial exacerbation. Calculi in kidney pelvis. The kidney size
is normal, shape irregular, capsule smooth, strips easily leaving a
rough mottled green-brown surface. Consistency is soft, tough,
resilient. Cortex slightly wide, medulla normal. On removal of capsule
the surface is found very irregular and elevations from the surface
are pale red gray-green color. These elevations do not correspond with
any change in cortex on section. Section is smooth, solid, markings
not clear but glomeruli are distincter than striæ. Line between cortex
and medulla obscure. The left kidney contains sand-like calculi,
possibly uratic, as there are some pale areas near point of pyramid
which are firmer than rest of tissue and rather gritty. Microscopic
section of kidney shows the architecture much disturbed by connective
tissue overgrowth in outer layers of medulla and inner layers of
cortex and following the medullary rays to the capsule. Tubules are
compressed and distorted in the vicinity mentioned. Epithelium is
elsewhere low, opaque and granular. The connective tissue about the
glomeruli is thickened and hyaline as it is in most other places.
Tufts are not yet compressed. Following medullary rays there is a
recent round and polynuclear infiltrate both around and in tubules.
A Golden Cat (_Felis temminicki_) presented sand in the urethra, which
had caused a traumatic urethritis and distention of the bladder. There
was no evidence of renal urate collections, but a low grade prostatitis
existed so that the bladder might have been distended before the urethra
became inflamed, thereby giving opportunity for sand to form or to have
arisen in the prostatic ducts.
Three birds, a Bunting (_Passerina ciris_), a Bulbul (_Chloropsis
aurifrons_), and a Buzzard (_Buteo albicaudatus_), had large cloacal
urate calculi which could obstruct the ureter but had failed to do so;
one had an acute ascending pyelonephritis, however.
Excessive urate collections in ureters and kidneys occur all through the
avian orders and in about the same percentages; meat and fish-eating
birds have practically no cases, however. The condition seems at times
the only finding at autopsy, or it may be associated with uratic
serositis. Gout of birds is commonly accompanied by it, but need not be
since two of the best examples of this disease had practically normal
kidneys.
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