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  • Diarrhoea is a sign of a bowel problem. This can vary from simple dietary indiscretion, e.g. eating a rotting bone found in the garden to potentially fatal illnesses such as cancer.

  • Muscle (called smooth muscle) and fibrous connective tissues form the framework (stroma) that holds other tissues together in the organs of the body. A number of different tumours can develop from the cells of these tissues.

  • False pregnancy (also known as pseudocyesis, phantom pregnancy or pseudopregnancy) is the term used to describe the condition whereby a non-pregnant dog undergoes bodily and behavioural changes similar to those you that would expect if she was pregnant.

  • Keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) is commonly called dry eye. This is a very apt name since the condition results from lack of proper tear production so that the eye has a dry and sore appearance.

  • All reptiles grow by shedding their skins periodically. Dysecdysis describes the failure to shed skin properly.

  • Infections of the external ear canal (outer ear) by bacteria or yeast are common in dogs but not very common in cats. This type of infection is called otitis externa. A cat with an ear infection is uncomfortable and its ear canals are sensitive. The vet may examine the ear canal with an otoscope. The results of the otoscopic examination and cytology tell the vet what to do.

  • The ear mite (Otodectes cynotis) is a surface mite that lives on cats, dogs, rabbits and ferrets. It is usually found in the ear canal but it can also live on the skin surface.

  • These tumours are polyp-like growths with a narrow base or a stalk. Some are nodular overgrowths secondary to inflammation but others are benign or malignant cancers of the glands found in this area.

  • This disease is caused by a microsporidian protozoan parasite, Encephalitozoon cuniculi. It is an intracellular parasite that preferentially colonises the kidneys, eyes and brain.

  • Tumours of the cortex of the adrenal glands may be overgrowths (hyperplasias) or benign (non-spreading) or malignant (spreading) cancers. Usually they are producing hormones that will have secondary clinical effects elsewhere in the body.