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Characterization of a Biphasic Neoplasm in a Madagascar Tree Boa (Sanzinia madagascariensis)

Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology (MMB, KP), and Department of Biomedical Sciences (DNRV), Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO

Abstract

We describe a disseminated biphasic neoplasm in a young Madagascar tree boa utilizing transmission electron and light microscopy. Discrete neoplastic cells identified within pulmonary capillaries and hepatic sinusoids represented the leukemic phase. Spindloid cells represented the sarcomatous phase, which comprised hepatic and fat body nodules. A zone of transition of the neoplastic cells, from discrete to spindloid, was noted along the periphery of the hepatic and fat body nodules. Ultrastructural examination elucidated similar nuclear features in the discrete and spindloid neoplastic cells and revealed collagen fibers within the spindloid neoplastic cells. These ultrastructural findings indicate that the discrete and spindloid cells represent a single neoplastic process with a subpopulation of cells exhibiting mesenchymal differentiation.

Key words: Boidae; electron microscopy; leukemia; light microscopy; metastatic neoplasm; sarcoma.

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