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Heart failure associated with unusual hepatic inclusions in a Deckert's rat snake
Insights
A juvenile Deckert's rat snake exhibited heart enlargement and mineralization. Histopathology revealed cytoplasmic granules and intranuclear inclusions in the liver, glomeruli, and kidney tubules, suggesting systemic disease.
Area of Science:
- Herpetology
- Veterinary Pathology
- Comparative Medicine
Background:
- Cardiovascular and hepatic diseases can affect reptilian health.
- Neoplasia and metabolic disorders are differential diagnoses in snakes with organ enlargement.
Observation:
- A juvenile Deckert's rat snake presented with cardiomegaly (heart enlarged twice normal size) and a circumferential body enlargement.
- Histopathological examination revealed focal mineralized lesions in the aorta and atrioventricular valve.
Findings:
- The liver showed disrupted sinusoid architecture with intracytoplasmic granules and intranuclear inclusions.
- Similar granules were observed within the cytoplasm of renal glomeruli and tubules.
Implications:
- This case highlights potential systemic pathology in Deckert's rat snakes.
- Further research is needed to determine the etiology and clinical significance of these findings in Elaphe obsoleta deckerti.
Abstract:
A juvenile Deckert's rat snake, Elaphe obsoleta deckerti, was presented with a circumferential enlargement of the body in the region of the heart. The heart was enlarged approximately twice normal size. Focal mineralized lesions were present in the tunica media of the right aorta and the right atrioventricular valve. The normal sinusoid architecture of the liver was disrupted with deeply eosinophilic to lightly basophilic granules of variable size in the cytoplasm and light eosinophilic intranuclear inclusions. Similar appearing intracytoplasmic granules were seen in the glomeruli and kidney tubules.
