Veterinary Cytology

The authors thank marine mammal trainers everywhere that have been involved in conditioning the husbandry behaviors that allow for cytologic samples to be collected . We also thank Drs. Michael Briggs and William Van Bonn for comments on the manuscript, and Monica Chaplin for help with the husbandry section.

In the present study, a case of papillary urothelial neoplasm of low malignant potential (PUNLMP) is described in a 7-year-old male terrier dog based on the WHO/ISUP consensus classification with cytologic description in urine sample. Cytological findings including the presence of cell clusters and multi nucleated umbrella cells, increased nucleus/cytoplasm (N/C) ratio, cytoplasmic homogeneity, nuclear eccentricity, nuclear molding, anisokaryosis, and anisonucleosis were compatible with low grade papillary urothelial carcinoma. Histopathologically, cells within papillae were well arranged, and minimal nuclear atypical was observed. Significant mitotic activity and pleomorphism were not found. The thickness of the epithelium varied from normal to much thicker and umbrella cells were prominent. Based on these criteria, the final diagnosis was papillary urothelial neoplasm of low malignant potential (PUNLMP). These findings are important for following research on the treatment of canine urothelial tumors and will encourage the use of such tumors as a model for human disease.

Rhoda Erdmann was one of the first women to become a university professor at Berlin university in the 1920ies before being ousted by the Nazis in 1933/1934 for helping her Jewish students to emigrated and obtain teaching assignments abroad.
She was a pupil of Robert Koch and one of the pioneers of modern cancer research as a cytologist who left Germany before WWI to work in Yale and Princeton where her career was terminated after allegations of being a German spy preparing biological warfare by poisoning water supplies in New Haven. Upon her return to Germany in 1919 she had to assert herself in a male dominated research environment under precarious conditions while working on top-level research and establishing a centre of excellence for cell research. She became a role model especially for women who pursued a university career.

Although the clinical and pathological findings are important in the diagnosis of listeriosis, to isolation or to be shown the presence of the bacterium must be required for the definitive diagnosis. This study aims to investigate the availability of imprint cytological (IC) and immunocytochemical (ICC) methods in comparison with histopathological and immunohistochemical (IHC) methods for the rapid diagnosis of encephalitic listeriosis. In the study, the touching and smear preparations taken from the pons and medulla oblongata of 25 ruminants suspected with listeriosis by neurological symptoms were stained with modified giemsa and also with ICC technic for revealing antigens, as a new method. Same tissue sections were stained with Hematoxylin&Eosin and IHC methods too, and examined under light microscope by scoring. In IC examinations, there were intensive neutrophils in 14 cases and few neutrophils in 4 cases, and no neutrophils were observed in 7 cases. In histopathological examinations, 13 of these 14 cases revealed typical microabscesses and listeria positivity in IHC staining. ICC positivity was detected in 12 (92.3%) of the listeria positive 13 cases. A highly positive correlation was observed among cytology (14), ICC (12), histopathology and IHC (13) scores (r2> 0.8; P<0.01). In conclusion, the cytological examination of the pons and medulla oblongata of listeriosis-suspected ruminants revealed that a rapid pre-diagnosis could be made with the presence of intense neutrophils. Also, with ICC staining of cytological preparations, the diagnosis could be performed with 92.3% accuracy. Since ICC is an easy and fast method, it is concluded that it can be used safely especially in field studies, along with cytological examination.