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What is your diagnosis? Muculent pleural effusion from a dog
Author(s) -
Riegel Casey M.,
Stockham Steven L.,
Patton Kristin M.,
Thomas Casey L.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
veterinary clinical pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.537
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1939-165X
pISSN - 0275-6382
DOI - 10.1111/j.1939-165x.2008.00043.x
Subject(s) - pathology , population , pleural effusion , medicine , cytokeratin , basophilic , vimentin , lumen (anatomy) , staining , desmin , anatomy , immunohistochemistry , environmental health
Pleural effusion was examined from a 5‐year‐old, female Brittany Spaniel with a 7‐day history of dyspnea, anorexia, and diarrhea. The fluid was yellow, cloudy, and slightly gelatinous, and had a total protein concentration of 2.8 g/dL, a total nucleated cell concentration of 1.1 × 10 3 /μL, and a triglyceride concentration of 177 mg/dL. A cytocentrifuged preparation contained a mixed inflammatory cell population with a predominance of small lymphocytes and abundant mucinous material in the background. The dog died 3 days later and a mass was found within the lumen and wall of the right auricle of the heart at necropsy. Histopathologic sections of the mass contained a population of anaplastic spindle cells diffusely suspended in a pale basophilic matrix, consistent with myxosarcoma. The cells were positive for vimentin and negative for cytokeratin, desmin, and von Willebrand factor VIII‐related antigen. A myxoid matrix was confirmed by positive staining with Alcian blue. Myxosarcoma is a rare cardiac tumor in dogs that should be considered, along with mucus‐producing carcinomas and bile, as a cause of muculent effusion.