Ganglion cysts in a juvenile dog

Ganglion cysts were diagnosed in a 4-month-old male Afghan Hound. Grossly, the subcutaneous ovoid cysts around the caudal right elbow joint and left ischiatic tuberosity had abundant mucinous fluid and internal folding. The lesions recurred twice around the elbow joint after surgical removal. Neither cyst communicated with the joint cavity. Histologically, the cyst wall consisted of inner myxomatous and outer immature connective tissue. Some parts of the cyst wall had various stages of myxoid metaplasia of collagen tissue leading to new cyst formation. Ultrastructural study revealed that cells in the myxoid metaplastic lesion had well-developed cytoplasmic secretory elements, including abundant rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, and many smooth-walled vesicles. These ganglion cysts apparently resulted from the metaplasia of fibroblasts to secreting cells.