Rat touch prep slides (Spleen, Mesentery, Testes)

Male Rat "Pete", 27 months of age.
Signs of illness: weight loss, respiratory illness (chronic)
Necropsy: Mesentery mass, extreme splenamegaly with (lesioned and bulbous in areas), enlarged lung lobes (tissue hardened in some areas and spongy in others).

I will be sending the tissue out for histology. In the meantime, I made slides of the diseased organs. I have no background in cytology, so I would love some help in learning to identify what I am seeing. It is amazing to me to be able to see the cancer up close. I apologize for any blurriness, I am new to photomicrography.

I will start with Pete's Spleen! I would post the gross photo of the spleen from the necropsy .. But it may be too graphic.

Thanks for looking!



Closer look


An odd cell




Huge cell.

Pete's testicle slides
Gross examinations showed no overt abnormalities.
But these cells ....

I am no expert on the subject, however, most of the spleen cells you pointed to seem to be various white blood cells and testes slide1: Red arrow – sertoli cell; Black arrow – spermatogonia. To figure out abnormalities, it is always recommended that you examine normal tissues for comparison (if possible).

I would also suggest that you look at:

1. oncology slides:
http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/hematology/HessIDB/alphabeticalglossary.cfm

2. histology of testes:
http://www.lab.anhb.uwa.edu.au/mb140/CorePages/MaleRepro/malerepro.htm

3. download Color Atlas of Cytology, Histology and Microscopic Anatomy:
http://www.ebookee.com/Color-Atlas-of-Cytology-Histology-and-Microscopic-Anatomy_41586.html

I hope that helps.

If you need help identifying a particular cell, I will try my best to do so.

P.S. In the future it would help if you identified stain, magnification, and origin of cells in the slide. I am assuming that everything in this case was stained with H&E stain? Also it would make a difference if your spleen slides are red pulp or white pulp.

Thank you so much. Sorry about the overload of photos. I get a little excited when it comes to the microscope photographs.

Those are wonderful links. I downloaded the Color Atlas of Cytology, Histology and Microscopic Anatomy. That should keep me busy for awhile.

I will note magnifications as I go in the future. I use a 15 x eyepiece and lean towards 100x oil immersion. I use Dip Quick for staining.

The spleen ... I will direct you to the necropsy photo series. The labeling is not completed. But there is a photo of the cut spleen so you can see the tissue area I used for the slide. Whether it is red or white pulp, I just can't say.

The necropsy: http://floridarat.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=404

The spleen in situ: http://floridarat.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=424

Spleen incised (full size): http://floridarat.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=433&g2_imageViewsIndex=1

I am trying to catalog normal tissue slides for comparison. The problem that I am running into is that almost all of my necropsy cases are of old rats (2+ years) and the organs typically show age related lesions/degeneration.

With the mesentery mass, the enlarged/lesioned spleen, enlarged lymphatics, and the abnormal lung lobes I am leaning towards a possible diagnosis of lymphoma. It is just speculation though until the pathologist examines the tissue.

Bella

I am glad it helped you. Unfortunately, I cannot tell red/white pulp from those photos either. However, I think you are right about lymphoma. Let me know the results.

Thank you so much. Sorry about the overload of photos. I get a little excited when it comes to the microscope photographs. Wink
Those are wonderful links. I downloaded the Color Atlas of Cytology, Histology and Microscopic Anatomy. That should keep me busy for awhile.
I will note magnifications as I go in the future. I use a 15 x eyepiece and lean towards 100x oil immersion. I use Dip Quick for staining.???