Spontaneous gallbladder pathology in baboons.
BACKGROUND
Gallbladder pathology (GBP) is a relatively uncommon, naturally occurring morbidity in both baboons and humans.


METHODS
A retrospective analysis was performed on 7776 necropsy reports over a 20 year period to determine the prevalence of baboon GBP.


RESULTS
Ninety-seven cases of GBP were identified, yielding a 20 year population prevalence of 1.25%. GBP is more common in adult female baboons, occurring with a female to male ratio of nearly 2:1. Among gallbladder pathologies, cholecystitis (35.1%) and cholelithiasis (29.9%) were the most prevalent abnormalities, followed by hyperplasia (16.5%), edema (15.5%), amyloidosis (5.2%), fibrosis (4.1%), necrosis (4.1%), and hemorrhage (1.0%).


CONCLUSIONS
Many epidemiologic similarities exist between GBP in baboons and humans suggesting that the baboon may serve as a reliable animal model system for investigating GBP in humans.
College of Veterinary Medicine, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA, USA.
J L
JL
Slingluff
J T
JT
Williams
L
L
Blau
A
A
Blau
E J
EJ
Dick
G B
GB
Hubbard
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005705:Gallbladder Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D042882:Gallstones / Q000737:chemistry; D006651:Histocytochemistry / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D008992:Monkey Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D010215:Papio; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology