Six adult loggerhead turtles were found stranded and were rescued near Sicily within a period of 12 months. Macroscopically apparent lesions of the shell were present. After thorough physical examination, ketamine-dexmedetomidine-atipamezole induction and tracheal tube insertion all six patients underwent computed tomographic examination under inhalant anaesthesia with isoflurane. A vertebral lesion at the level of the 3rd thoracic-lumbar vertebra with vertebral lamina and the vertebral body being involved without compression of the spinal cord, a vertebral lesion at the level of the 7th thoracic-lumbar vertebra and a vertebral lesion at the level of the 8th thoracic-lumbar vertebra were recorded in the first female. Loss of the shell near the left carapace-plastron bridge, with massive haemorrhage and compression of organs were present in the second female. The remaining four turtles had only superficial lesions with no involvement of bones and organs of the coelom. Computed tomography was proved to be a valuable non-invasive method for clinical examination of stranded sea turtles.
The aim of this study was to describe the reference intervals of electrocardiographic patterns and values in conscious healthy domestic geese (Anser anser). Standard bipolar and augmented unipolar limb lead electrocardiograms with a direct writing electrocardiograph were recorded in 14 domestic geese. The durations of PR interval, QRS complex, ST and QT intervals, the net of the QRS complex, and the P and T amplitudes were determined at 50 mm/s and at 1 cm = 1 mV. The polarity waveform was examined. The mean electrical axis in the frontal plane was determined in leads II and III. Data are expressed as means and standard deviations. The mean (SD) heart rate was 153.8 (22.4) beats/min. The QRS complex was mainly negative in leads II and III; it was positive in the augmented vector right, augmented vector left, and augmented vector foot leads. The T wave was positive in leads II, III, and the augmented vector foot lead and was negative in the augmented vector right and left leads. The mean electrical axis ranged between –30° to –140°. Electrocardiogram recordings were well tolerated by the geese. The reference intervals provided here can be used to assist in the interpretation of electrocardiographic patterns in geese.
A rigid endoscope was used to examine the cloacae of an adult pair of Tiliqua gigas gigas, and single specimens of Tiliqua gigas evanescens and Tiliqua sp. (Irian Jaya form). Throughout the procedure the animals showed no signs of stress. Clear anatomical differences were observed between the sexes. Females presented the typical two pairs of papillae (ureteral and genital) and males a single pair of urogenital papillae. The observed differences were confirmed when both pairs bred successfully in the following year.
The author describes a very rare case of dicephalism in a Podarcis sicula found in Ragusa (Italy). This is the first account in the world of a malformation of this sort in Podarcis spp.
An adult male variable kingsnake (Lampropeltis mexicana) was presented for examination due to a three-week history of anorexia and obvious body deformities. On objective examination the animal was in poor condition, and on palpation, an intracoelomic mass was noted approximately in the distal third of the body, cranial to the cloaca. In agreement with the owner, an exploratory celiotomy was planned and performed and the mass was surgically removed. Modified Wright–Giemsa stain impression smears were taken, which were consistent with an undifferentiated tumour. Histological examination revealed the presence of a solid proliferation composed of highly tubular anaplastic cells and abundant multinucleated cells. The neoplastic cells were positive for cytokeratin (AE1/AE3), but not for vimentin. Periodic acid–Schiff (PAS) staining revealed the presence of large granular cells, which can be identified as the characteristic cells of the efferent ducts. Based on the morphological and immunohistochemical findings, the diagnosis of extratesticular anaplastic carcinoma was made. To the authors’ knowledge, this type of neoplasm has never been reported in the male genital apparatus of snakes.
In this work the authors describe the first case of Lepidochelys kempii stranding (Garman, 1880) happened in Italian waters (Sicily, Messina) and considered to be the fifth in the entire Mediterranean Sea. A young individual was recovered with a longline hook in its oesophageal.
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