PMC10225638_01
Sagittal (A) and transversal (B) CT (in soft tissue window) of a healthy Giant African Land Snail (GALS) for comparison, showing a slim, soft tissue dense, normal kidney (arrow), positioned along the wall of the first whirl of the shell. Lateral radiograph (C) as well as transversal (D) and sagittal (E, in modified bony window) CT of GALS No. 1 in October 2016. The kidney is indicated with arrows. The organ is severely enlarged with a bumpy surface. The kidney deposits (arrow in (D)) expanded even further till January 2017. Instead of measuring the absolute diameter of the kidney one may also note the relative size by observing the distance of the kidney surface to the central columella. The kidney here occupies more than 50% of the diameter of the whorl in (D). (F) Transversal CT image (soft tissue window) of snail No. 2. The kidney presents from 6 to 12 o'clock along the inner contour of the shell. The kidney surface is bumpy and multiple hyperdense amorphous areas (kidney deposits) are visible.
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fig1
Severe renal enlargement was diagnosed with moderately bumpy surface of the kidney (similar to Figure 1C). CT examination revealed renomegaly with a heterogeneous parenchyma and several elongated hyperdense areas within the parenchyma (similar to Figures 1D-E).
(A) Macroscopic picture of deceased Giant African Land Snail (GALS) No. 1 removed from her shell. Note the enlarged kidney (=k). h = heart, dg = digestive gland. (B) Macroscopic picture of deceased snail No. 2 with the prolapsed esophagus from the mouth, marked with an arrow. (C) Clinical picture of GALS No. 4 with mantle collapse (=mc) and severe edema (=e).
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fig2
In April 2022, the snail was presented to the clinic because of a mantle collapse and edema in the regions of the foot and head (Figure 2C).
(A) Histopathological picture of the kidney of Giant African Land Snail (GALS) No. 1, showing nephropathy with edema and deposition of various spherocrystals. HE-stain, 40 x objective. (Exomed-Institute, Berlin, Germany). (B) Histopathological picture of the kidney of GALS No. 2, showing full degeneration of the kidney with no physiological nephrocytes but spherical to cloddy compartments. HE-stain, 10 x objective. (Exomed-Institute, Berlin, Germany). (C) Histopathological picture of the kidney of GALS No. 4, showing nephropathy with severe degeneration of the kidney and deposition of many spherocrystals as well as larger deposits, which seemed to consist of a mixture of accumulated excretions and cellular debris. HE-stain, 10 x objective (Vetmeduni, Vienna, Austria).
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fig3
The connective and muscular tissue of the foot was interspersed with a multitude of slit-like empty spaces, interpreted to be extracellular edema (Figure 3C).