A congenital vascular naevus in a foal

SUMMARY This paper describes a case of a congenital vascular malformation in the skin of a colt. The lesion arose at the coronary border of the right hind leg. The microscopic structure of a biopsy suggested that the lesion, consisting of multiple foci of closely-packed convoluted small vessels in the dermis, represented a marked exaggeration of glomi which normally occur in considerable numbers in this region of the skin. On the basis of the clinical, macroscopic and histological findings, this lesion was considered to be an hamartoma, rather than a true tumour, and was therefore termed a congenital vascular naevus. The foal is remaining under observation to determine the eventual outcome of the lesion.