title: Metastatic melanoma appearing to originate from the beak of a racing pigeon (Columba livia).
abstract: A 12-year-old male pigeon (Columba livia) was reported to have a small lesion on the lower beak, which was diagnosed as malignant melanoma. After surgery to remove it, the general condition of the bird worsened and the bird died. Post mortem examination revealed gross, black-colored lesions in the liver, kidney, spleen, and femur bone marrow. Lesions were not found in the adrenals. Histopathologically, the neoplastic cells had a large amount of melanin pigment and showed severe anisokaryosis and prominent nucleoli. Mitotic activity was infrequent but varied considerably where it was observed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Conservation Biology, Department of Applied Science, Nippon Veterinary and Lifescience University, Kyonan-cho 1-7-1, Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180-8602, Japan. kjgy@jcom.home.ne.jp
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kajigaya
authors.forename: Katsutoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Konagaya
authors.forename: Hiroyasu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ejima
authors.forename: Ziniti
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Usuda
authors.forename: Seikan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kodama
authors.forename: Jos
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thone
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001502:Beak / Q000473:pathology*; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D019046:Bone Marrow Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary / Q000662:veterinary; D010856:Columbidae; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary / Q000662:veterinary; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D013160:Splenic Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary / Q000662:veterinary