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Case 5:
History:
An 8 year old Thoroughbred mare presented with severe
mental depression and lethargy of 6 weeks’ duration. Appetite was
also severely reduced and associated with weight loss. The mare had been
observed in recent weeks to stand “staring” for prolonged
periods and to intermittently press her forehead against fenceposts.
The mare was euthanised and a necropsy performed. The
liver was approximately half its normal size and was firm and coarsely
multinodular (cobblestoned).
Vessels adjacent to the kidneys were engorged and tortuous
and there was a mild excess of serous peritoneal fluid.
At low magnification, the nodularity of the parenchyma
is obvious. The largest nodule superficially resembles an hepatic lobule
but it has bile ducts towards its centre, consistent with severe architectural
distortion.
Between adjacent nodules, there has been condensation of original connective
tissue (due to loss of hepatic parenchyma) and also addition of collagen
(fibrosis). Condensation and fibrosis account for the firmness of the
liver on gross examination.
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