Primary malignant histiocytosis of the brain in a dog

Malignant histiocytosis is a well-recognized canine tumour, occurring primarily in Bernese mountain dogs and characterized by disseminated histiocytic infiltration of multiple visceral organs. This report describes the light microscopical and ultrastructural features of a neoplasm composed of malignant histiocytes and confined to the brain. A poorly demarcated mass in the right parieto-occipital lobe of a miniature schnauzer was composed of loosely aggregated, pleomorphic cells with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm, expanding the meninges. Many binucleated and multinucleated giant cells and mitotic figures were seen. Immunohistochemically, the tumour cells reacted intensely for lysozyme. Ultrastructurally, the neoplastic cells had features of histiocytic cells with abundant lysosomes. The findings in this case were strikingly similar to those of disseminated malignant histiocytosis described in other dog breeds.