PMC8692788_01
PMC8692788_02
Ventrodorsal (A) and lateral (B) radiograph of the 16-month-old rabbit that was suffering from appendicitis. Note the soft tissue opacity due to chymus in the GI tract because the client had syringe-fed the animal with a recovery diet. A small amount of gas is seen in the caecum. The radiograph is inconclusive for the diagnosis of any GI tract disorder. On abdominal ultrasound, note the tubular organ on longitudinal (C) and transverse section (D). Both views showed a thickened, hypoechoic wall with a lumen content of heterogeneous echogenicity, which was confirmed by surgery. The inflamed appendix was filled with necrotic material. The size of the whole of the transverse section of the appendix was 12.5 mm with a wall thickness of 3.7 mm.
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F1
Radiography and abdominal ultrasound revealed a reduced amount of chymus in the stomach and intestines (Figure 1). The tubular structure had a wall thickness of 4.2 mm with a rounded, closed end and a multilayered wall characteristic of the intestinal tract (Figure 1).
Intra-operative view of the 16-month-old rabbit with both a sacculitis and appendicitis (A-F). Exploratory laparotomy showed a thickened wall of both the sacculus rotundus
(A) and the vermiform appendix (B). During appendectomy, all the vessels associated with the appendix were ligated (C) prior to excision of the appendix (D). Postoperative view of a caecum after appendectomy (E) and excised vermiform appendix (F).
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F2
A standard midline laparotomy confirmed a presence of small amount of free fluid in the abdomen (~10 ml) and a thickened sacculus rotundus and a thickened processus vermiformis caeci (appendix) with miliary yellowish lesions visible in the wall of these structures (Figure 2).
Histopathological examination of a vermiform process in a rabbit with appendicitis (A-C). (A) Severe oedema of intestinal mucosa, multifocal to diffuse mixed and neutrophilic inflammatory infiltrate, and fibrinous exudate on the surface of mucosa. HE stain, x40. (B) Areas of haemorrhages in mucosa and superficial fibrinous exudate. HE stain, x40. (C) Formation of micro-abscesses in superficial part of mainly necrotic mucosa. HE stain, x100.
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F3
Histopathological examination of the appendix wall revealed the same findings as in the previous case (Figure 3).