CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THORACIC NEOPLASIA IN THE HORSE

Thirty-eight horses with confirmed thoracic neoplasia included 28 (37. 7%) with lymphosarcoma, 4 (10.5%) with metastatic renal cell carcinoma , 2 (5.3%) with primary lung carcinoma, 2 (5.3%) with secondary squamo us cell carcinoma from the stomach, 1 (2.6%) with pleural mesothelioma , and 1 (2.6%) with malignant melanoma. The major clinical features in cluded weight loss, inappetence, dyspnoea and coughing, but in cases o f lung metastases, they related more to the primary site of tumour for mation. Haematological and serum biochemical abnormalities were non-sp ecific. Specific pre-mortem diagnosis was made in 14 horses; this was most readily achieved when exfoliated neoplastic cells were present in pleural fluid.