PERITONEAL MESOTHELIOMAS IN 2 FERRETS (MUSTELA-PUTORIUS-FURO)

Two unrelated domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) were presented with a complaint of abdominal distention. At surgery in one case and a t necropsy in the other, proliferative neoplasms involving the periton eum were identified. The neoplasms in both cases were composed of a bi phasic population of cells that appeared both epithelial and mesenchym al in various areas of the tumors. Ultrastructural examination reveale d long microvilli, interdigitating cytoplasmic membranes, desmosomes, and tonofilaments. Neoplastic cells expressed immunohistochemical reac tivity for both cytokeratin and vimentin intermediate filaments. This is the first description of the histologic, ultrastructural, and immun ohistochemical appearance of mesothelioma in the ferret.