CHYLOUS ASCITES IN A CHEETAH (ACINONYX JUBATUS) WITH VENOOCCLUSIVE LIVER DISEASE

• Published in: Journal of zoo and wildlife medicine 2003-12, Vol.34 (4), p.380-384
• Main Authors: Terrell, Scott P, Fontenot, Deidre K, Miller, Michele A, Weber, Martha A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acinonyx; Acinonyx jubatus; Animals; Animals, Zoo; CASE REPORTS; Cheetah; Cheetahs; Chylous ascites; Chylous Ascites - diagnostic imaging; Chylous Ascites - pathology; Chylous Ascites - veterinary; Female; Fibrosis; Hepatic veno occlusive disease; Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease - diagnostic imaging; Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease - pathology; Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease - veterinary; Lesions; Liver; Liver - pathology; Liver diseases; Lymphatic diseases; Radiography, Abdominal - veterinary; Veins; venoocclusive disease; Zoos
• ISSN: 1042-7260; 1937-2825
• DOI: 10.1638/02-081

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.