A GENETIC APPROACH TO GALLBLADDER MUCOCELES IN DOGS

摘要

A gallbladder mucocele is simply an enlarged gallbladder that contains an excessive amount of mucus. The first report of gallbladder mucoceles in dogs was in 1965. This report described finding mucinous hypertrophy of the gallbladder incidentally in older dogs undergoing necropsy. More recently, gallbladder mucoceles (mucinous hyperplasia or mucinous cholecystitis) have been documented to be an increasingly important cause of hepatobiliary disease in dogs. Whether or not this apparent increase in gallbladder mucoceles in dogs represents a true increase in disease frequency or is simply a reflection of increased ultrasonographic examination of the abdomen is not currently known. In contrast to the 1965 report, more recent reports involving gallbladder mucoceles describe a disease that can be associated with a high degree of morbidity and mortality, and not simply an incidental finding. Gallbladder mucoceles tend to occur in older dogs (9 years of age is the median reported in several studies).