Arteriosclerosis in exotic mammals

Arterial disease of reptiles

“…The present study supplements our previous observations (Finlayson, Symons & T-W-Fiennes, 1962;Finlayson, 1965) and those of others (Vastesaeger et al, 1965;Ardlie & Schwartz, 1965;Bohorquez, 1972) that intimal fatty streaking is both uncommon and usually of very limited extent in reptiles and that atherosclerosis is virtually unique. Reported cases of calcareous atheroma and arteriosclerosis are almost certainly examples of medial calcification, and the one acceptable case of atherosclerosis, which was limited to a few small plaques in the abdominal aorta of a Two-banded monitor (Varanus salvator) that had survived in captivity foI 20 years, is detailed by Vastesaeger et al (1965).…”

“…The literature on arterial disease of reptiles is sparse. Most of the reports are limited to isolated cases, such as those described by Yearsley (1904), Hamerton (1933Hamerton ( , 1935Hamerton ( & 1937, Reichenbach-Klinke & Elkan (1965), Wallach (1966) and Schuchman & Taylor (1970), or to small series that have been examined with particular reference to the prevalence of intimal fatty streaking and atherosclerosis (Finlayson, Symons & T-W-Fiennes, 1962;Ardlie & Schwartz, 1965;Finlayson, 1965;Vastesaeger, Delcourt & Gillot, 1965;Bohorquez, 1972). The one major survey was made by Cowan (1968), who carried out a retrospective analysis of the pathological disorders occurring in 1249 reptiles that died in the Philadelphia Zoological Garden over a period of 66 years.…”

Avian Physiology

“…Although spontaneous aortic disease is extremely widespread in the animal kingdom (Bohorquez and Stout, 1972), the close resemblance of avian atherosclerosis to the human disease has been recognized since the early part of the twentieth century (Siller, 1965). Human atherosclerosis is a major health problem of modern man, and the experimental study of the pathology of this degenerative disease requires the use of suitable animal models.…”