title: A case report of an ectopic fetus in a cat.
abstract: An ectopic fetus was discovered in an 18-month-old uniparous queen that was admitted for an elective ovariectomy. Six months prior she had delivered three healthy kittens. During the preoperative examination, a mass similar in size to a full-term fetus was detected in the abdominal cavity. Ultrasound examination revealed the mass to be an ectopic fetus in the mid-abdominal region. A mummified fetus was removed by laparotomy. No rupture of the uterine wall was visible, but a small necrotic area was present on the left uterine horn, adjacent to the very proximal portion of the uterine horn. The fetus, which was fully developed and covered by a thin membrane, was carefully dissected. Histological examination did not enable us to definitively prove the extra-uterine development of the fetus; however, the ectopic development of the conceptus secondarily expelled into the peritoneal cavity could be assumed.
authors.affiliation: University Lyon 1, Pathology of Reproduction, VetAgro-Sup, Veterinary Campus of Lyon, Marcy l'Etoile F-69280, France. e.rosset@vetagro-sup.fr
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rosset
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Galet
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Buff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D002415:Cats; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005333:Fetus / Q000473:pathology; D007044:Hysterectomy / Q000662:veterinary; D010052:Ovariectomy / Q000662:veterinary; D011247:Pregnancy; D011271:Pregnancy, Ectopic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery / Q000662:veterinary*; D014463:Ultrasonography