Abstract
A 2-month-old, female, Japanese cat showed hypothermia, depression and lethargy, and died on the 5th day of the clinical course. Necropsy revealed no significant changes except for a slight swelling of both kidneys. Parts of the kidneys were subjected to a pathological examination. The significant changes found in glomeruli were a crescent formation, localized necrosis and cystic dilation of the glomerular tufts, and fibrin exudation in Bowman's space. Sixty-five to 80 percent of the glomeruli of both kidneys showed an epithelial crescent with more than two-cell thick. Urinary casts and fibrinoid necrosis of the arcuate artery were observed with a mild interstitial inflammatory cell infiltration.
Ultrastructurally, the glomerular crescents consisted mainly of epithelial cells. Thickening of glomerular basement membrane was absent. These clinical and pathological findings suggest the present case to be snake venom poisoning.
