Congenital Urachal Diverticulum in Dogs: A Case Report: Ojszczyk-Szczepaniak A., Miech A., Wojnowski T
Congenital Urachal Diverticulum in Dogs: A Case Report: Ojszczyk-Szczepaniak A., Miech A., Wojnowski T
Congenital Urachal Diverticulum in Dogs: A Case Report: Ojszczyk-Szczepaniak A., Miech A., Wojnowski T
Bladder diverticula occur infrequently in domestic basis of the ultrasonographic and radiological exami-
animals. Congenital and acquired diverticula (9, 10) nation. This initial evaluation was confirmed during
currently are known. The acquired diverticula (pseudo- the surgical intervention and histological examination.
diverticulum) develop after traumatic injury to the
bladder or may be of neurogenic or iatrogenic origin Case report
(5, 10, 12). The common causes for diverticulum A female Mastiff aged 4 years was presented to the
development are such conditions like: cystitis, neopla- Laboratory of Radiology and Ultrasonography for exami-
stic tumors or urolithiasis that lead to the intravesical nation of the lumbosacral spine and abdominal cavity. The
pressure growth as a result of a lack or increased resi- medical history revealed that the dog showed signs of
stance of urine outflow (5, 10, 11). More frequently ataxia. According to the owner, the signs could not be
reported diverticula are those arising from malforma- associated with any reason and they disappeared after each
tion and anatomical defects, including, among others, micturition of the animal. The laboratory urinalysis indica-
anomalies within the urachal duct (4, 10). ted a slight amount of squamous epithelium, leukocytes and
These disorders have been addressed in only a few erythrocytes in the urine sediment (tab. 1).
scientific reports on veterinary research (5, 9). Some
of them focus on the occurrence of diverticula related Tab. 1. Analysis of dogs urine
with the urachal abnormalities. C olor straw
In the prenatal life, the urachus is continuous be-
A p p e a ra n c e clear
tween the fetal urinary bladder and the allantois. After
parturition it undergoes atrophy during the lumen U rinary specific gravity 1 .0 1 0
cicatrization at the bladder apex (4). If this process P rotein +/
is disturbed or the obliterated duct gets re-patented, pH 6 .0
a number of pathologies occur within this structure.
B lood pigment, ketones, glucose, bilirubine negative
Depending on the a urachal part involved in the patho-
logical process, the development of patent urachus, S ediment: squamous epithelial cells 0 -8
urachal ligament, sinus or urachal cyst and urachal Leukocytes 0 -4
diverticulum (3, 4, 9) can be discerned. R ed blood cells 0 -1
The paper reports a case of a dog whose initial
U rine casts negative
diagnosis of a urachal diverticulum was made on the
422 Medycyna Wet. 2010, 66 (6)
Fig. 2. Ultrasound evaluation. Noticeable gross diverticulum Fig. 3. Ultrasound image of the urinary bladder and diverti-
in communication with the urinary bladder lumen culum examination immediately after the dogs micturition
Medycyna Wet. 2010, 66 (6) 423
culum was visible as a thin-walled structure in direct Whereas the congenital anomalies are due to weak-
communication with the urinary bladder lumen. Im- ness of the bladder detrusor muscle, with no risk of
portantly, some features indicating urine retention were rupture (5).
noted in the absence of other characteristics associa- In the presented case, the canine diverticulum was
ted with cystitis or other disorders that may arise from found to consist of all urinary bladder layers and the
the retention indicated in the laboratory findings or medical report did not have any past history of dif-
imaging study. ficult micturition, which may imply the congenital
Taking into account the medical history with the origin of the disorder.
ultrasonographic image of a lesion and its characteristic
localization in the cranioventral part of the urinary blad- References
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It is usually reported in the cases of traumatic injuries Corresponding author: lek. wet. Anna ojszczyk-Szczepaniak, Gboka
or diseases characterized by difficult micturition (10). 30, 20-612 Lublin; e-mail: anna.lojszczyk@gmail.com