Fatty liver in birds at the zoological society of London

Abstract

The livers of 531 captive wild birds necropsied at the Zoological Society of London were examined histologically. Marked fatty infiltration of the liver was found in 13 cases. Seven of the 13 cases were from the order Psittaciformes indicating that some species (cockatoos, parakeets and parrots) in this order may be particularly susceptible to fatty infiltration of the liver. Affected livers were commonly swollen or enlarged, pale, white or yellow in colour and soft, friable or fatty at post mortem examination. Histologically, marked fatty infiltration of the liver was characterised by the presence of intracytoplasmic fat vacuoles within hepatocytes without zonal or lobular distribution throughout the sections examined. Reticulolysis and fibrosis of the hepatic parenchyma were found in association with marked fatty liver in a proportion of cases. Macroscopic or histological evidence of hepatic haemorrhages was not found in affected birds. In psittacine birds, obesity was frequently seen at post mortem examination and it was considered that nutritional and/or metabolic factors were important causes of fatty liver in this group. Fatty liver was found in association with chronic wasting diseases caused by mycotic infection in two cases.

Postmortem Findings in Bustards in the United Arab Emirates

“…Fatty liver changes are known to occur following hepatocyte damage, nutritional deficiencies, excess dietary fat, low protein diets, high carbohydrate diets, exposure to toxins and insufficient exercise (Wadsworth et al, 1984, Squires and Leeson, 1988, Murphy, 1992. The~iology of fatty liver changes in poultry have been comprehensively reviewed by Squires and Leeson (1988).…”

Causas de morte em Passeriformes: comparação entre aves de vida livre residentes na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo e aves oriundas do tráfico

“…Frequentemente é vista em aves de cativeiro e raramente descrita em vida livre, incluindo Passeriformes (WASWORTH; JONES; PUGSLEY, 1984;MACWHIRTER, 1994;CUBAS;GODOY, 2005). Ocasionalmente é vista em fringilídeos, podendo estar associada à dietas altamente calóricas como ingestão excessiva de sementes gordurosas (MACWHIRTER, 1994;DAVIES, 2000).…”

“…Ocasionalmente é vista em fringilídeos, podendo estar associada à dietas altamente calóricas como ingestão excessiva de sementes gordurosas (MACWHIRTER, 1994;DAVIES, 2000). A etiologia é multifatorial incluindo desnutrição, obesidade, doenças debilitantes e metabólicas, intoxicações e infecções (WASWORTH; JONES; PUGSLEY, 1984;BRUGERE, 1987;CUBAS;GODOY, 2005).…”

Clinical Application of Three-Dimensional Quantitative Ultrasonography in Presumptive Diagnosis of Hepatic Lipidosis in Common Mynahs (Acridotheres tristis)

“…Hepatic lipidosis or fatty liver has been reported in many avian species as well as mammals and humans and it seems to be one of the most prevalent hepatic metabolic disorder in birds [9,10,11,12,13,14]. Hepatic lipidosis is not a speci c disease entity in birds and many different etiologies like vitamin de ciencies, high energy diets, or even infectious agents could have roles in pathogenesis of fatty liver [9,2,15,16].…”