Neoplastic pleural effusion and intrathoracic metastasis of a scapular osteosarcoma in a dog: a multidisciplinary integrated diagnostic approach

A 10‐year‐old, female spayed mixed‐breed or cross‐bred dog was referred to the Small Animal Teaching Hospital of the University of Liverpool due to tachypnea, dyspnea, and pleural effusion not responding to diuretics and antibiotics. The chest was drained and cytology of the pleural fluid was consistent with a modified transudate with presence of atypical cells initially attributed to mesothelial hyperplasia and dysplasia. Computed tomography detected, in addition to the bilateral pleural effusion, diffuse pleural thickening, multiple pleural and pulmonary nodules, and a mineralized and lytic mass in the left scapula. Imaging findings were suggestive of a primary bone tumor with intrathoracic metastasis. Cytology of the left scapular and pleural masses revealed a malignant neoplasm highly suggestive of osteosarcoma. The diagnosis was confirmed by demonstration of a positive cytochemical reaction for alkaline phosphatase on prestained cytology slides. This finding prompted review of the initial interpretation of the pleural effusion cytology. The presence of neoplastic osteoblasts in the thoracic fluid was identified by a combination of cytochemistry, cell pellet immunohistochemistry, and transmission electron microscopy findings. In this report, a multidisciplinary integrated diagnostic approach was used to diagnose and confirm a neoplastic pleural effusion due to osteosarcoma metastasis in a dog.     

Quantitative morphology in canine cutaneous soft tissue sarcomas

Stained cytological specimens from 24 dogs with spontaneous soft tissue sarcomas [fibrosarcoma (n = 8), liposarcoma (n = 8) and haemangiopericytoma (n = 8)], and 24 dogs with reactive connective tissue lesions [granulation tissue (n = 12) and dermal fibrosis (n = 12)] were analysed by computer‐assisted nuclear morphometry. The studied morphometric parameters were: mean nuclear area (MNA; µm²), mean nuclear perimeter (MNP; µm), mean nuclear diameter (MND mean; µm), minimum nuclear diameter (D_min; µm) and maximum nuclear diameter (D_max; µm). The study aimed to evaluate (1) possibility for quantitative differentiation of soft tissue sarcomas from reactive connective tissue lesions and (2) by using cytomorphometry, to differentiate the various histopathological soft tissue sarcomas subtypes in dogs. The mean values of all nuclear cytomorphometric parameters (except for D_max) were statistically significantly higher in reactive connective tissue processes than in soft tissue sarcomas. At the same time, however, there were no considerable differences among the different sarcoma subtypes. The results demonstrated that the quantitative differentiation of reactive connective tissue processes from soft tissue sarcomas in dogs is possible, but the same was not true for the different canine soft tissue sarcoma subtypes. Further investigations on this topic are necessary for thorough explication of the role of quantitative morphology in the diagnostics of mesenchymal neoplasms and tumour‐like fibrous lesions in dogs     

香榧体细胞胚发生、发育的形态与细胞学观察

将香榧(Torreya grandis‘Merrillii’)的未成熟合子胚置于SH+0.1 mg·L-1 NAA+500 mg·L-1AC+3%蔗糖+0.5 g·L-1 Gln培养基上暗培养45 d,诱导产生半透明颗粒状胚性愈伤组织;将胚性愈伤组织转入SH+20 g·L-1 PEG+10 mg·L-1 ABA培养基中暗培养3个月诱导体细胞胚。采用碘—碘化钾染色和石蜡切片技术对体胚起源、形态发育与细胞组织学进行了观察。结果表明:胚性愈伤组织起源于合子胚胚轴表皮或皮层细胞的对称分裂。胚性愈伤组织含有两类细胞,一种是细胞质浓厚、细胞核大、体积小的圆形胚性细胞,另一种是高度液泡化拉长的细胞。胚性愈伤组织包含由这两种细胞构成的原胚团Ⅰ、原胚团Ⅱ和原胚团Ⅲ,以及一些游离细胞。原胚团Ⅲ在无植物生长调节剂的SH基本培养基上形成原胚,原胚接入成熟培养基,历经球形、棒状、心形、鱼雷形胚后发育成子叶胚。将子叶胚转入萌发培养基后胚根伸长,胚芽发育长出针叶,形成完整的再生植株。同时在离体培养中合子胚胚柄处退化的裂生多胚也能重新发育形成胚体。在初生体胚发育过程中表面常伴有次生体细胞胚的形成。