Studies on the pathology of dicrocoeliasis and fascioliasis in the goat. I. The histopathology of the liver and bile ducts

Comparative studies were made on the histopathology of the liver and bile ducts in dicrocoeliasis and fascioliasis of the goat. Investigations revealed certain similarities in the nature of the pathological phenomena produced by D. dendriticum and F. hepatica. However, a feature peculiar to fascioliasis was the migratory tracks of immature flukes in the liver parenchyma. Further, the lesions produced by fascioliasis were distinctly more pronounced than those present in dicrocoeliasis.In both parasitic diseases the bile-duct walls showed glandular hyperplasia, increased frequency of goblet cells and globule leucocytes, and extensive fibrosis in the outer layers. The desquamation produced by Dicrocoelium remained superficial whereas Fasciola was capable of causing deep erosions in the walls of the main bile ducts. The bile-duct walls did not become calcified. Increased fibrosis was present in the interlobular areas, too, but only fascioliasis produced extensive disorganisation of the hepatic architecture, due to the scars originating from repaired migratory tracks. The liver parenchymal cells were degenerated, showed decreased glycogen but were increasingly infiltrated by neutral fats.Keyword: Dicrocoelium dendriticum, Fasciola hepatica, liver, bile ducts