An 11-yr-old female cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) was diagnosed clinically with hepatic and renal disease and euthanatized after an extended illness. Postmortem examination revealed 8–10 L of milky white fluid in the abdominal cavity and markedly dilated lymphatic vessels within the intestinal mesentery. The abdominal fluid was a chylous effusion based on the cytologic predominance of lymphocytes and macrophages and comparison of cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the fluid and in serum. Gross and histopathologic lesions in the liver were consistent with a diagnosis of venoocclusive liver disease. Chylous ascites is uncommon with human chronic liver disease and is rarely identified in animals.
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1 December 2003
CHYLOUS ASCITES IN A CHEETAH (ACINONYX JUBATUS) WITH VENOOCCLUSIVE LIVER DISEASE
Scott P. Terrell,
Deidre K. Fontenot,
Michele A. Miller,
Martha A. Weber
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Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine
Vol. 34 • No. 4
December 2003
Vol. 34 • No. 4
December 2003
Acinonyx jubatus
cheetah
chylous ascites
liver
venoocclusive disease