Cardiac hemangioma in a corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus)

J Zoo Wildl Med. 2012 Jun;43(2):360-6. doi: 10.1638/2011-0130.1.

Abstract

A 3-yr-old female corn snake, Pantherophis guttatus guttatus, was presented for clinical examination of anorexia and a coelomic mass. Radiographs and ultrasound demonstrated a fluid-filled mass in the cardiac region. Surgical exploration revealed an approximately 1.2-cm, round, multilobulated, fluid-filled, nodular lesion firmly attached to the left atrial wall. Resection was attempted but proved unsuccessful and the animal was euthanized. Histopathological examination of the lesion revealed a large cystic structure associated with a cluster of variably sized, vascular channels lined by a one-cell-thick layer of endothelium, consistent with a cardiac hemangioma of the left atrium. This, to the best of the authors' knowledge, is the first report of such an occurrence in a snake.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Female
  • Heart Neoplasms / pathology
  • Heart Neoplasms / veterinary*
  • Hemangioma / pathology
  • Hemangioma / veterinary*
  • Snakes*