Abstract
Pathology is a natural science which investigates abnormal structural or functional states of the body. To examine the cause of an abnormality, pathologists conduct detailed macroscopic dissection(necropsy)on deceased animals. To study the morphological changes and functional disorders in tissues and organs, tissues are next processed by routine histology and examined microscopically. The fundamentals of animal pathology are to examine the nature of diseases by comparative investigations with the etiology and characteristics of similar diseases among other animal species and human beings(Comparative Pathology). This approach is thought to be one of the most effective ways to epizoonotic potential. A thought pathological examination of all animals dying spontaneously in a colony or zoo setting enables the pathologist to make clear and accurate assessments of disease causation. Thus, the infections, metabolic or toxic etiologies are revealed and appropriate steps to prevent additional loss of animals and zoonotic spread to humans can be made. The role of pathology in wildlife medicine can be summed up as follows:1.A monitoring of infections disease for wildlife management, prevention of zoonosis and domestic animal hygiene. 2.An index of environmental pollution;air, water and soil pollution. 3.A comparative pathology on aging changes and the incidence of neoplasms(zoo animals). Because the quality of tissues influence the accuracy of dianosis, proper communication between pathologists and field biologists is essential to ensure appropriate specimen collection in the field. In near future, it would be desirable to have pathological information archived and tissues from zoo animals and wildlife concentrically located and made available to the public in Japan.
