Th e commo n neopl asms of shee p include intestina l ade no carcino ma [1,6,14] and lymphosarco ma and hepatic ca rcino ma [1,5,14]. Th ere are few report s of neopl asms arising in nervou s tissue in sheep. Aba tto ir survey dat a generally do not ment ion tum ors of th e cen tra l nervous system [I,3, II ,14]. Review ar ticles also lack inform ati on on centra l nervou s system tum ors of sheep [8,12,13]. Menin giom a, perineural fib robl astom a and adventitia l sa rcomas [91 , cerebra l hem an giom a astroc ytoma and intercos ta l neu rofibr om a [4] and spinal melan om a [2J ha ve been reported in shee p.A 9-mo nth-old fema le Hampsh ire shee p was sub mitted to th e Sch ool of Veterinary Med icine's Diagnostic Lab or at ory, Ore gon State U niversity. Fo r th e previous mo nth th e shee p had refused to stand . T he owners had d ren ched th e shee p with egg yo lk and sugar, and had prov ided hay an d oa ts. At necropsy th ere was a firm white-tan 2-to 3-centime ter ovo id no dule on the ven tral surface of th e anterio r cervical spina l cord at the atlantal-occipi tal articulation ( fig. I). Ne rves did no t extend from the tum or. On section, th e tumor 's exp an sion had resulted in seve re co mpressio n atro phy of th e adj acent spina l cord ( fig. 2). T issue was fixed in 10% buffe red formalin and hem atoxylin and eosin (HE) -stained 6-microme ter sections were pre pared.T he tumo r was composed of numerous interl acing bundles of elonga te ba sophilic nuclei embedded in an abundant eosi no phi lic cytoplasm ic mat rix ( fig. 3). Ce ll bord ers were not distin ct. Th e nuclei varied in chroma tin density, but nucl eoli and mitot ic figures were uncommon . N ucle i were consisten tly a ligned in parall el ar rays, but palisading was rar e. Specia l stains showed a mod erat e amo unt of collage n, mainly restric ted to th e ed ges of th e cell-rich anastomosing bundles. Reticul in was not prom inent. T here was no evidence of necrosis, hemorrhage, miner alization, inl1amm ation or enca psulatio n. U ltras truc tural exa mination of form alin-fixed tissues was unrewarding becau se of fixation ar tifacts .