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MAMMARY tumours rarely develop in horses or other herbivores (Feldman 1929, Moulton 1990, and most reports of mammary carcinoma in the mare refer only to single cases (Schmahl 1972, Acland and Gillette 1982, Munson 1987, Foreman and others 1990. However, Seahorn and others (1992) reported mammary carcinomas in four mares. This short communication describes three cases of mammary carcinoma in mares which were diagnosed at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Dublin, over a 10-year period, and confirms that the prognosis for survival is poor despite surgical resection of the affected gland.A 12-year-old, non-pregnant, non-lactating, thoroughbred mare presented with ventral oedema and a painful enlargement of the left mammary gland with an ulcerated surface which discharged purulent material. The left mammary gland was amputated and weighed 7 kg. The wound healed well. Five months later, the right mammary gland was enlarged and indurated with ulceration of the skin surface. The gland was surgically removed and weighed 2 kg. The owner reported that the mare died 10 months later but a postmortem examination was not performed.A 13-year-old, non-lactating, non-pregnant, Irish draught mare in poor condition presented with a hard painful swelling of the right mammary gland and with oedema of the ventral abdomen and hindlimbs. Prolonged antibiotic therapy was ineffective. Following examination of a fine needle aspirate, the right mammary gland was surgically removed and weighed 4 kg. Wound healing was delayed and the mare continued to lose weight. One month later, the left mammary gland was indurated, the ventral oedema was increased, and the mare was subsequently euthanased.A 15-year-old, non-lactating, thoroughbred mare, in poor condition and six months pregnant, presented with a large, painful, ulcerated mass involving both mammary glands and of two months duration. There was a marked ventral oedema and the mare walked stiffly. Following fine needle aspiration (FNA) the mare was euthanased.Haematological examination revealed a neutrophilia with moderate leucocytosis in cases 2 and 3; hyperglobulinaemia and hypoalbuminaemia were present in all three cases. Cytological examination of the fine needle aspirate from case 2 showed clusters of pleomorphic, basQphilic epithelial cells, some vacuolated with occasional prominent nucleoli (Fig 1). On FNA, case 3 showed clusters of plump basophilic epithelial cells, some of which were arranged in acinar formation. Cytoplasmic vacuolation, anisocytosis, anisonucleosis, marked chromatin clumping, nuclear moulding and large multiple nucleoli were apparent.On postmortem examination, the left superficial inguinal lymph glands in case 2 appeared markedly enlarged and a hard nodular mass extended via the left inguinal canal up into the pelvic canal. Nodular masses were located within the broad ligament of the uterus and the skeletal muscle of the inguinal canal. Case 3 presented a single large, firm mass weighing 10 kg, which obliterated the normal architecture of both glands. Cross-sect...

Brains from 100 horses, aged 2-25 years, were systematically examined by histopathology at 46 different neuroanatomical sites. The horses were sourced from a slaughterhouse (group A, n = 57), from a kennel that collected dead animals, and from 2 diagnostic laboratories (group B, n = 43). All horses from group A and 26 horses from group B were examined by a veterinarian in the period before death. None of the horses were known to exhibit clinical signs suggestive of neurologic disease. Among the main changes identified were vacuolation in the neuropil (n = 73), neurons (n = 32), white matter (n = 31), and focal perivascular lymphoid cell infiltrates (n = 35). Spheroids were frequently seen (n = 91), and 10 horses each had more than 10 spheroids in the cuneate or gracile nucleus. Statistically significant age-related changes noted included intraneuronal (n = 97) and glial or extracellular lipofuscin deposition (n = 41), hemosiderin deposition around blood vessels (n = 60), and calcium depositions (n = 24). One horse had low-grade nonsuppurative meningoencephalitis; Alzheimer type II cells were detected in the brains of 2 horses. Hyalinized vessel walls in the cerebellum were observed in 1 horse. It was concluded that some histopathologic changes are a frequent feature in equine brains, which has implications for the pathologists involved in equine neurology and disease surveillance.

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