Page 360 - Feline diagnostic imaging

368 22 Gastrointestinal Disease

(a) (b)

(c)

Figure 22.22 (a) Ultrasonography of a 14-year-old Ragdoll with T cell lymphoma with hepatic involvement. Diagnosis was made by
surgical biopsy of the liver. The cat was in remission after chemotherapy but is now lethargic and eating poorly. There is an eccentric
mass involving that wall of the small intestine with a loss of wall layering and decreased echogenicity. (b) Wall layers are visible on
one side of the mass but there is a complete loss of layering on the opposite side. (c) An ultrasound scan of another 12-year-old
domestic shorthair with T cell lymphoma shows concentric thickening (3.8 cm between the calipers) of the small intestinal wall with
complete loss of wall layering. The wall is hypoechoic.

outflow obstruction, FGESF can cause disruption of the that centers on the submucosa and inner smooth muscle
hypoechoic triangle normally seen at the pylorus [19]. layer, the disease in two cats affected mainly the outer lon-
gitudinal muscle and tissues external to the bowel. The dis-
22.4.4.3 Actinomycetoma ease appeared to be more focal in these cats than in most
Actinomyces sp. is a branching filamentous bacterium that dogs, allowing a better chance for successful resection.
has been reported to cause an abdominal mass associated Invasion into vessels is seen in some dogs and was present
with the intestine of a cat [14]. Sonographically, there was in one of the cats. Imaging was not described.
a 5–7 cm diameter mass with multiple cavitations contain-
ing fluid. The mass was found at surgery to surround and 22.4.5 Intestinal Trauma
adhere to the ileocecal region.
Trauma may not be apparent on survey radiography
22.4.4.4 Fungal and Parafungal Disease but trauma may result in pneumatosis intestinalis
With the exception of cryptococcosis, most fungal diseases (Figure 22.24), a condition in which gas is found in the sub-
are more common in dogs and the GI tract is not usually mucosa of the intestine. A similar condition in the colon is
the target in cats [46]. Pythiosis affects the GI tract but has termed pneumatosis coli. Some cases are idiopathic with
only been rarely reported in cats compared to dogs [40]. no history of known trauma. The condition usually resolves
Although the disease in dogs causes a transmural change spontaneously but the cat should be monitored because