Rare Form of Splenomegaly on a Bovine: A Case Study

Abstract

Post-mortem on a four year Nguni-Mashona female bovine that had died from trampling by other animals while in transit to the slaughter house showed a rare form of splenomegaly. The spleen weighed 11.9 kilograms and measured 81.5 cm in length 37cm in width and 9 cm thick. The spleen characteristics could be described as follows: there were no pathological lesions, profuse bleeding occurred on the surface cut with a knife, the pulp caused a bulge on the cut surface which showed a granular appearance, case spleen consistence was firmer than a normal spleen, a smear of the case spleen showed a proliferation of lymphocytes which appeared to have replaced the white pulp, there was hyperplasic growth of reticuloendothilial cells and the case spleen had a dark reddish discoloration. Spleens in cattle of the same breed, age and sex weighed 1.0 ±0.25 kg and measured 39±5 cm length, 14±3.5 cm width and 3±0.5 cm thick. This is a first documented record of this size of splenomegaly in Zimbabwe