title: Trichodina xenopodus, a ciliated protozoan, in a laboratory-maintained Xenopus laevis.
abstract: A postmortem evaluation of a domestically bred, adult, female Xenopus laevis revealed the presence of a urinary bladder protozoan consistent with Trichodina xenopodus. T. xenopodus is considered an incidental finding, as its presence in the urinary bladder in frogs has not been correlated with disease or with urinary bladder epithelial lesions. Trichodina spp. are ciliated protozoa known to colonize many species of amphibians and fish. These protozoa frequently inhabit the skin and gills, but may also be present in the urinary bladder of infected animals. Their presence on the skin and gills in low numbers is not related to disease; however, large numbers may indicate poor water quality and overcrowding.
authors.affiliation: The Tri-Institutional Training Program in Laboratory Animal Medicine and Science, The Rockefeller University, Weill Cornell Medical College and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA. collymoc@mskcc.org.
authors.forename: Chereen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Collymore
authors.forename: Julie R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lieggi
mesh_terms: D000820:Animal Diseases / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D016770:Ciliophora Infections / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D016802:Oligohymenophorea / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D014982:Xenopus laevis / Q000469:parasitology*