Infiltrative urethral disease in female dogs: 41 cases (1980-1987)

Forty-one cases of infiltrative urethral disease in female dogs were reviewed. The cause was epithelial neoplasia in 29 dogs, granulomatous (chronic active) urethritis in 10 dogs, and leiomyoma in 2 dogs. Clinical signs of disease were similar in dogs with neoplastic and inflammatory disease and included strangury (36/41), hematuria (30/41), pollakiuria (20/41), vaginal discharge (16/41), and complete urinary obstruction (7/41). Results of aspiration biopsy of the urethra correlated with those of surgical biopsy in 11 of 15 dogs. In 4 of 15 dogs, results of cytologic and histologic examinations differed. Granulomatous (chronic active) urethritis is an infiltrative urethral disease in female dogs. Clinical findings are similar, but the prognosis is more favorable than that in dogs with urethral epithelial neoplasia.