Anencephaly is a congenital disease manifesting with the absence of the brain due to the failure of the cranial part of the neural tube to close during the embryonic stage. The disease may be accompanied by other anomalies and usually results in premature death. A stillborn puppy of a 2-year-old female Pomeranian dog is examined in this case. The lack of brain tissue and accompanying abnormal skull formation was noted macroscopically. The eyes were protruding out of their normal position (exophthalmos), and a bifid tongue together with a secondary cleft palate was present. On serial sections stained with Haematoxylin-Eosin, only the medulla spinalis among the central nervous system structures could be inspected microscopically. Immunohistochemistry staining revealed GFAP immunoreactivity in the astrocytic glial cells. NeuN immunoreactivity was detected in the neurons in the medulla spinalis and spinal ganglions. Incomplete retinal layers were observed on the eye sections stained with Haematoxylin-Eosin and NeuN. The case was concluded to be coherent with skull and nervous system congenital malformations rarely observed in dogs. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first description of a dog with anencephaly, bifid tongue and cleft palate.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the presence, microanatomical localization, and immunohistochemical subtypes of mast cells in the lacrimal glands (LGs) of rats. Animals: A total of ten female Sprague–Dawley rats' LGs were evaluated in this study. Procedure(s): The experimental animals were euthanized. LG samples were collected and fixed in 10% neutral formaldehyde for 48 h. Sections were taken from the paraffin‐embedded samples and stained for microscopic examination. The histochemical properties of lacrimal gland epithelium and the composition of tears were examined by Periodic acid‐Schiff and Alcian blue staining and evaluated microscopically. Toluidine blue staining and tryptase and chymase immunohistochemically demonstrated localization and phenotypes of mast cells. Results: The existence and varying numbers of mast cells were successfully demonstrated in all three LGs by Toluidine blue staining, and the highest number of mast cells was observed in the extraorbital lacrimal gland, while their numbers were almost the same in the intraorbital lacrimal gland and Harderian gland. Immunohistochemically, chymase‐positive mast cells were more numerous than tryptase‐positive cells. Conclusions: This study is the first documentation of the presence of mast cells with different phenotypes in rat LGs.

The cownose ray, Rhinoptera bonasus, is currently listed as vulnerable and threatened species by the IUCN Red List due to overfishing and bycatch in worldwide resulted declines of the steep population declines of 30-49% in only 43 years. We aimed to present suitable dissection methods for a necropsy of cownose ray with a large, rhomboid-shaped wing-like pectoral disc and compressed dorsoventrally using a specific approach to observe external and internal anatomy. The fish were obtained from a public aquarium after natural death and were dissected with four incision area to open chondrocranium, gills, pericardial cavity and pleuroperitoneal cavity. The dorsal surface of the body is completely naked and smooth, greenish-brown colored, in contrast the ventral surface of the body is white. The liver fills most of the pleuroperitoneal cavity and covers the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, valvular intestine, spleen, kidney and uterus. The valvular intestine or spiral valve is one of the largest organs of the digestive system. In most rays, only the left ovary is developed and functional; therefore, the ovaries of the specimens are located on the left to the median line, close to the cranial end of the pleuroperitoneal cavity, and caudal to the stomach. In conclusion, the presented dissection techniques will enable to examine of the external and internal anatomy of cownose rays and will contribute to a suitable approach to organs.

The ruminant stomach is a critical digestive department in terms of converting low-quality feed into high nutrient-value substances. In these animals, there is a compound stomach structure with 4 compartments. Understanding the developmental structure of the stomach at macroscopic and microscopic levels is especially important in terms of nutrition. Türkiye can be considered one of the leading countries in the world in terms of sheep breeding. Our study aimed to investigate macroscopically and microscopically the developmental structures of the stomach of Hamdani crossbred sheep fetuses collected at different gestation periods. For this purpose, a total of 15 fetuses, 5 fetuses each from 3 different periods of pregnancy, were included in the study. The stomachs of the fetuses were dissected simultaneously and their topographic and macroscopic features were determined. After routine histological procedures, the stomachs separated from the body cavities were stained with Hematoxylin & Eosin and Masson Trichrome stains. As a result of the study, macroscopic and microscopic information about fetal development of the stomach was obtained. It was revealed macroscopically and microscopically that the rumen was the largest part of the stomach until the middle of the 2nd period of gestation, and that the abomasum grew rapidly at the end of this period and showed similar characteristics to the adult sheep stomach. The data of the study will contribute to macroscopic, microscopic, and ultrasonographic studies on the stomach in ruminant animals.

In this case report, two intestinal masses compatible with gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is described in a nine-year-old female Terrier dog. The dog presented with complaints of anorexia and vomiting following the ingestion of food. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed two masses in the ventral aspect of the stomach and duodenum. The masses were 6.1×3.7×2.3 cm and 3.2×2×1.7 cm in size, and cut surfaces of the masses were grayish-white-yellow and had a solid appearance. The greater mass invaded the intestinal serosa and mucosa. Cut surfaces were grayish white – yellow and had a solid appearance. Following routine histopathological processing, masses were sectioned at 4 μm, stained with H&E, and immunohistochemically with anti-c-KIT (CD117) antibody. Microscopically, the tumor comprised cells with an oval vesicular nucleus, spindle-shaped eosinophilic cytoplasm and a prominent nucleolus. Mitotic activity was significantly increased (5-6 mitoses at ×400 magnification), and occasionally binucleated cells were observed. Large necrotic areas surrounded by inflammatory cells were noticed. Gastrointestinal stromal tumor is a neoplasm originating from intestinal Cajal cells. The tumor is mostly confused with leiomyoma and leiomyosarcoma; immunohistochemical demonstration of c-KIT is performed for differential diagnosis.

Mastitis is inflammation of the mammary tissue and is commonly observed in farm animals. The problem causes severe financial losses in the dairy industry in terms of veterinary costs, milk disposal, and treatment expenses. Bacteria are the main actors in the etiology and cause acute and chronic inflammatory changes in the mammary tissue. Acute inflammatory changes are easily recognized clinically, and treatment is initiated immediately, but subacute inflammation progresses insidiously and leads to chronic inflammation with irreversible fibrotic changes. Standardized experimental models for the induction of acute mastitis in laboratory animals are available. Usually, infusion of bacteria or some bacterial structural components into mammary tissue is easily applied for this purpose. However, there are few studies on the induction of chronic mastitis with fibrotic changes, and the applications are relatively complex. In this study, LPS was infused through the teat duct three times on days 0, 5, and 10 to induce chronic mastitis in mice. Tissues were sampled on days 1, 6, and 15 to evaluate histopathological changes. While severe neutrophil infiltrates, a component of acute inflammation, were observed on day 1, lymphocyte infiltrates increased on day 6, consistent with subacute inflammation. On day 15, lesions representing chronic mastitis, such as fibrosis and lymphocyte infiltration, were observed. A model similar to the lesions in chronic mastitis of dairy cattle was successfully and easily established by LPS infusion in mice.