Conjoined twinning has been reported in most of the domestic animal species. It occurs extremely rarely in horses, occasionally dogs and cats, and not uncommonly in cattle, pigs and sheep (2). Furthermore, the last species have the highest incidence of craniofacial defects among domestic animals and man (1). In order to contribute to the knowledge of animal congenital defects, The presented paper describes the morphological features of a diprosopic lamb. A live male crossbreed dystocic two-headed lamb was delivered from a 2-years-old Pinzerita sheep at first mating. After 40 hours of life, the lamb spontaneously died. It was frozen and then sent to the Department of Veterinary Pathology of the University of Messina for necropsy. Samples of different tissues and organs were collected and processed for routine histopathology. The lamb had two heads, four eyes and two ears. The skulls were joined in the frontal-parietal-temporal region, partially involving the parotideal and maxillary regions. The medial mandibular branches were joined in the caudal third, nearby the vertical mandible branch. Each head possessed a nasopharynx, an oropharynx and a normal tongue. The soft and hard palates were complete. The oropharyngeal regions of each head merged to form a single laringopharynx and a single oesophagus. The lamb had two separate brains and cerebella and fusion occurred in the region of the medulla oblongata. The remainder of body tissues and organs were within apparently normal limits. First examination of different organ and tissue sections did not reveal remarkable histomorphological changes. The lamb was classified as a conjoined twinning and, on the basis of the facial duplication, as a diprosopus tetraophtalmus. In conclusion, the authors discuss about the need for further studies in this branch of comparative pathology, which are infrequently reported in the veterinary practice. References 1. Dennis SM et al., The Vet Bull, 1979, 49:233 2. Fisher KRS et al.., The Anat Rec, 1986, 214:432.

DIPROSOPIASIS IN A LAMB: A CASE REPORT

MAZZULLO, Giuseppe;GERMANA', Antonino;
2000-01-01

Abstract

Conjoined twinning has been reported in most of the domestic animal species. It occurs extremely rarely in horses, occasionally dogs and cats, and not uncommonly in cattle, pigs and sheep (2). Furthermore, the last species have the highest incidence of craniofacial defects among domestic animals and man (1). In order to contribute to the knowledge of animal congenital defects, The presented paper describes the morphological features of a diprosopic lamb. A live male crossbreed dystocic two-headed lamb was delivered from a 2-years-old Pinzerita sheep at first mating. After 40 hours of life, the lamb spontaneously died. It was frozen and then sent to the Department of Veterinary Pathology of the University of Messina for necropsy. Samples of different tissues and organs were collected and processed for routine histopathology. The lamb had two heads, four eyes and two ears. The skulls were joined in the frontal-parietal-temporal region, partially involving the parotideal and maxillary regions. The medial mandibular branches were joined in the caudal third, nearby the vertical mandible branch. Each head possessed a nasopharynx, an oropharynx and a normal tongue. The soft and hard palates were complete. The oropharyngeal regions of each head merged to form a single laringopharynx and a single oesophagus. The lamb had two separate brains and cerebella and fusion occurred in the region of the medulla oblongata. The remainder of body tissues and organs were within apparently normal limits. First examination of different organ and tissue sections did not reveal remarkable histomorphological changes. The lamb was classified as a conjoined twinning and, on the basis of the facial duplication, as a diprosopus tetraophtalmus. In conclusion, the authors discuss about the need for further studies in this branch of comparative pathology, which are infrequently reported in the veterinary practice. References 1. Dennis SM et al., The Vet Bull, 1979, 49:233 2. Fisher KRS et al.., The Anat Rec, 1986, 214:432.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11570/1590404
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