Oviductal lymphangiectasia secondary to mesosalphinx leiomyoma in a chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) - a case report

A rare case of oviductal lymphangiectasia was described in a 73-week old Nera-black layer, brought from a farm in the western part of Nigeria with a capacity of 41,000 birds. The layer was found dead inside the cage, without premonitory signs. Necropsy examination revealed marked oedema of the oviduct, with prominent mucosal folds. The dorsal ligament showed prominent and markedly dilated lymphatic vessels, having a discrete, soft but firm, pouch-like appearance and a centrally located oval-shaped, solid encapsulated tumorous mass. Histologically, there was severe oedema of the lamina propria, submucosa and muscularis of the oviduct, with ballooning dilatation of their lymphatic vessels and those of the dorsal ligament, which contained deeply eosinophilic proteinaceous fluid and moderate mononuclear cells, mostly lymphocytes and macrophages. The tumorous mass revealed interlacing bundles of elongated cells that showed eosinophilic cytoplasm and oval to cigar-shaped nuclei. The tumorous mass was positive with Van Gieson stain. This is the first reported case of oviductal lymphangiectasia secondary to mesosalphinx leiomyoma in a domestic chicken.