Sudden death of a crossbred calf associated with a myocardial adenomatoid tumour

Abstract

The only lesion found in a crossbred calf that died suddenly was a rare tumour in the myocardium of the left ventricle. The mass appeared similar to tumours discovered incidentally in the hearts of abattoir specimens in Italy, described as adenomatoid tumours. These are bimorphic tumours presumed to have a mesothelial origin. Although in a published study from Italy these tumours were considered incidental and clinically unimportant, I suggest that in this case the mass may have interfered with cardiac conduction, causing sudden death of the calf.

In this issue – June 2018: Diversity of Haemophilus parasuis isolates from Australian piggeries · Detection of bovine noroviruses in Australian dairy cattle · Myocardial adenomatoid tumour in a calf · Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a horse · A history of veterinary education · Review of Q fever notifications in Victoria

“…A short communication describes the presence of a mass in the heart of a 10‐week‐old steer that was found dead . The paper shows the pathological findings, including histological images of the cytokeratin and vimentin staining that was consistent with a mesothelial cell tumour, similar to those previously reported in one study of lesions found as incidental findings in calves at slaughter.…”