Primary chondrosarcoma in the skull of a dog

Chondrosarcoma of the skull is a rare primary malignant tumor that is slow-growing, but locally aggressive. A 5- year-old, golden retriever was presented to our hospital with a swelling in the left side of her head, and the swelling had slowly enlarged over the previous month. There were no significant changes on the neurological examination. A computed tomography scan revealed a large mass involving bone destruction and prominent matrix mineralization. T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging showed a slightly low-signal intensity area and a T2-weighted image revealed marked, high-signal intensity. There was compression of the adjacent brain parenchyma. Histopathological examination confirmed the lesion to be a chondrosarcoma.