Two additional cases of intestinal lymphangiectasia with lipogranulomatous lymphangitis (IL/LL) in dogs are described. Clinical signs in the affected animals included chronic diarrhea, weight loss, labored breathing and anorexia. At necropsy, the mucosa of the small intestine was pale, soft and had numerous white, elongated villi clumped together in tufts giving the surface of the intestinal mucosa a pronounced velvety pattern. White, round, smooth, raised, firm, pinpoint lesions, varying from 1-3mm of diameter, were observed on the serosal surface of the small intestine on its mesenteric border and along prominent mesenteric lymphatic vessels distended with thick, chalky white paste. Thin carcasses. subcutaneous edema and cavitary effusions were also observed. Microscopically, the lacteals of the villi of the small intestine were markedly dilated and there were many intramural and mesenteric lipogranulomas. In the present study, histological evaluation of the small intestine and its attached mesentery was necessary to confirm the diagnosis of IL/LL. The prevalence of this entity in dogs in Brazil remains to be determined.
chronic enteric disease; protein-losing enteropathy; lymph vessels; small intestine; diarrhea
