title: Chylous ascites in a cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) with venoocclusive liver disease.
abstract: An 11-yr-old female cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) was diagnosed clinically with hepatic and renal disease and euthanatized after an extended illness. Postmortem examination revealed 8-10 L of milky white fluid in the abdominal cavity and markedly dilated lymphatic vessels within the intestinal mesentery. The abdominal fluid was a chylous effusion based on the cytologic predominance of lymphocytes and macrophages and comparison of cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the fluid and in serum. Gross and histopathologic lesions in the liver were consistent with a diagnosis of venoocclusive liver disease. Chylous ascites is uncommon with human chronic liver disease and is rarely identified in animals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Gainesville, Florida 32610, USA.
authors.forename: Scott P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Terrell
authors.forename: Deidre K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Fontenot
authors.forename: Michele A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Martha A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Weber
mesh_terms: D002612:Acinonyx; D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo; D002915:Chylous Ascites / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D006504:Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D011860:Radiography, Abdominal / Q000662:veterinary