The primary factor in developing adult Dirofilaria immitis infection was closely examined in 5 dogs which had not been properly administered prophylactic agents against canine dirofilariasis. The first case was given a tablet formulation of milbemycin oxime from June to August and a tablet formulation of moxidectin in November and December of 2001, but was not treated with any prophylactic in September and October of 2001. The second case had not been treated until August of 2001 and was given a chewable formulation of ivermectin from September to December. In these two cases, improper periods of medication was considered to be an important factor in developing adult D. immitis infection. The third case was given a chewable formulation of ivermectin from June to December of 2003, but the dog had diarrhea when treated in August and September. It was thought that the amount of the active ingredient absorbed was insufficient at those medications due to malfunction of the digestive tract of the dog. The forth case was treated with a spot-on formulation of ivermectin from June to December of 2004. In this case, probably an amount of the active ingredient cutaneously absorbed was not enough, because the dog owner had not administered the formulation by pushing the dog's hair aside to make the medicine reach the skin directly. The fifth case was given a tablet formulation of moxidectin from June to December of 2005. But the dog grew rapidly during this period, so the enough dosages were not continuously administered, because the drug was prescribed based on the body weight at a time in June. In conclusion, it is necessary to take various factors into consideration in prescribing and administering prophylactics against canine dirofilariasis. And it is also necessary to give careful and concrete instructions to dog owners.

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In a 6-year-old, uncastrated, mixed-breed dog with a main complaint of repeated diarrhea, masses were found in the abdominal cavity and the intestine by radiography with and without contrast medium, and by ultrasonography. Extramedullary plasmacytoma was suspected by fine needle aspiration. Because of the danger of perforation, the abdomen was opened, and many tumors were found in the liver, spleen, and jejunum, as well as enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes. Remission was obtained by partial resection of the tumors and combination chemotherapy, but the dog died on the 253rd day.

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A female cat of ten years and six months old was referred to us with acute paralysis of the limbs. Magnetic resonance imaging and other clinical examinations revealed a spinal lesion, which was suspected of being an infarction. The cat was euthanized on the 405th day, since its chronic renal failure had worsened. Pathologically, a good possibility of the spinal lesion being caused by fibrocartilaginous embolism.

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Mitral valve replacement (MVR) was successfully done in a model dog with chronic mitral regurgitation (MR), using our newly developed porcine bioprosthetic valve, which we cross-linked by both glutaraldehyde and polyepoxy compounds, making the most of the characteristics of each chemical. Seven years ago, the dog underwent a surgical operation to develop an MR condition experimentally. Under extracorporeal circulation through a cardiopulmonary bypass system, the valve was replaced after a left lateral thoracotomy via the fifth intercostal space, and an incision at the left atrium. Antithrombotic drugs were administrated only for a month after MVR. At the time of writing, 12 months after MVR, no regurgitation can be observed at the replaced valve on cardiosonographs, and the dog is clinically normal.

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In clinically healthy dogs, No.1, No.2, and No.3, the total value of bile acids (TBA) and conjugated bile acid fractions in the serum were measured before and 2, 4, 8, and 12 hours after meals. In addition, in clinically healthy dogs, No1, No.4, and No.5, conjugated bile acid fractions in the serum and the gallbladder were simultaneously measured after 12-hour fasting, and compared. In the first series of tests there was a high correlation between TBA values and the sum of conjugated bile acid fractions at all sampling times, and the compositional ratio of bile acids in the serum tended to be constant in each individual dog, although the values of serum conjugated bile acid fractions varied with the passage of time after each meal. In the second series of tests the compositional ratio of conjugated bile acid fractions collected from the serum was similar to the ratio from the gallbladder. From these findings, measurement of serum conjugated bile acid fractions may be useful in estimating the compositional ratio of conjugated bile acid fractions in the gallbladder, even when the period of fasting is short, for example, during an outpatient consultation.

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The clinical courses of three canine tumor cases were observed after administration of capsulated Hatakeshimeji extract (Lyophyllum decastes Sing.). The liver tumor case died one month after administration of the extract, the rectal carcinoma case in nine months. but the brain tumor case is alive for 23 months. However it is unclear what directly effect the administration Hatakeshimeji has on a tumor, the number of lymphocytes increased after the administration of Hatakeshimeji in all three cases. Therefore, it suggests that Hatakeshimeji plays a role in increasing the number of lymphocytes in canine tumor cases.

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