Abdominal mesothelioma in a goat

Abstract

CASE HISTORY: An 8-year-old female Toggenburg goat was presented with a history of reduced appetite, ruminal tympany, and abdominal enlargement of 2 weeks' duration.

CLINICAL FINDINGS: The abdomen was markedly distended and contained a large amount of fluid, demonstrated using ultrasonography, along with echogenic masses on the ventral ruminal and reticular walls. The findings were confirmed at exploratory laparotomy, where together with excessive peritoneal fluid, numerous nodules were found blanketing the peritoneum.

PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS AND DIAGNOSIS: Numerous partially coalescing, white-grey nodules up to 3 cm in diameter covered the peritoneum. A biphasic mesothelioma consisting of epithelial and mesenchymal components was demonstrated by histopathology and immunohistochemistry.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Primary tumours of the peritoneum are rare and occur in many animal species. They must be differentiated from chronic granulomatous peritonitis caused by bacteria (e.g. tuberculosis or ‘pearl disease’), parasites and metastatic tumours.

KEY WORDS:

• Goat
• mesothelioma
• abdominal cavity