A mixed thymoma was diagnosed in a 15-year-old female American robin ( Turdus migratorius) that exhibited poor body condition, dysphagia, hyporexia, and depression. A 1.5-cm subcutaneous nodule was present in the cranio-ventral cervical region, which had been noticed by the owner 15 days before presentation. On cytologic evaluation of a fine-needle aspirate, well-differentiated lymphocytes were observed. Surgical excision was elected; however, the mass was firmly attached to the esophagus and the jugular vein, and the attempt at excision resulted in fatal hemorrhage. On histologic examination of the mass, small, well-differentiated lymphocytes were observed mixed with neoplastic reticular cells and Hassall's corpuscles. On immunohistochemical analysis, the cytoplasm of 80% of the reticular cells showed abundant detectable brown antigen binding with pancytokeratin staining, and most lymphoid cells showed detectable antigen in the cytoplasm by using CD3 antibodies. The cytologic, histopathologic, and immunohistochemical features of the neoplasm in this robin were consistent with a mixed thymoma.
Keywords: American robin; Turdus migratorius; avian; cervical region; immunohistochemistry; mixed thymoma; neoplasm; thymoma.