Invasive histiocytic sarcoma of the lumbar spine in a ferret (Mustela putorius furo)

Abstract

This report describes the history, clinical examination and histopathology of a histiocytic sarcoma in a domestic ferret. Clinical signs were acute paraplegia and dysuria. Physical examination revealed a firm, smooth, touch-sensitive mass in and around the lumbar vertebral column. Neurologic examination was consistent with a lesion between spinal cord segments T3 and L3. Magnetic resonance images revealed bone lesions of L2 and L3 combined with compression of the spinal cord due to a homogenous, isointense mass that was diagnosed as a malignant round cell tumour and the ferret was euthanased. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of an infiltrative histiocytic sarcoma.

Clinical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical studies of histiocytic sarcoma in four-toed hedgehogs (<i>Atelerix albiventris</i>): A retrospective study

“…Two forms of histiocytic sarcoma are known: 1) localized histiocytic sarcoma, which occurs in one organ; and 2) disseminated histiocytic sarcoma, which metastasizes from local lymph nodes or disseminates to systemic organs [14,15]. Histiocytic sarcoma is more common in dogs, and fewer cases have been reported in many domestic animal species such as cats, rabbits, hamsters, and ferrets [2,4,6,7,13,23,25].…”