de Carvalho Marcelo Pires Nogueira, Sant'Anna Sávio Stefanini, Grego Kathleen Fernandes, de Campos Fonseca-Pinto Ana Carolina Brandão, Lorigados Carla Aparecida Batista, Queiroz-Hazarbassanov Nicolle Gilda Teixeira, Catão-Dias José Luiz
1 Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, 05508-270.
2 Laboratory of Herpetology, Butantan Institute, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, 05503-900.
J Wildl Dis. 2017 Oct;53(4):804-815. doi: 10.7589/2016-08-181. Epub 2017 May 2.
Congenital malformations have been reported in all classes of vertebrates and may be a determinant of life span and survival. In reptiles, the incidence of congenital malformations can be associated with genetic and environmental causes, including pollution. The characterization of pathological processes involved in the development of congenital malformations of bone in snakes is rare in the literature, but is of great relevance in the field of reptile conservation and environmental health. We describe congenital bone lesions in 50 newborn jararaca (Bothrops jararaca) and 26 South American rattlesnakes (Crotalus durissus terrificus) born from wild-caught pregnant females in Southeastern Brazil. Lesions were evaluated by morphometric quantitative analysis, x-ray microtomography, and histopathologic descriptive analysis. Morphometric analysis showed that jararaca presented more severe axial lesions (kyphosis, scoliosis, and kyphoscoliosis) than rattlesnakes. Female rattlesnakes presented more severe axial lesions than did males. In rattlesnakes, spinal deformities were more frequently diagnosed in the caudal segment of the body. We present x-ray microtomographic assessments and images of malformed snakes (n=9) and characterized novel malformations, such as the agenesis of frontal, parietal, and supraoccipital bones in a jararaca specimen. Histopathologic findings included vertebral body fusion, myositis, coagulation necrosis, and disorganization of periaxial muscle fibers. The new methods and results presented in this study will be useful and informative for future research in pathology, teratology, embryology, and ecotoxicology in snakes.
先天性畸形在所有脊椎动物类别中均有报道，并且可能是寿命和生存的一个决定因素。在爬行动物中，先天性畸形的发生率可能与遗传和环境因素有关，包括污染。关于蛇类骨骼先天性畸形发育过程中所涉及病理过程的描述在文献中较为罕见，但在爬行动物保护和环境卫生领域具有重要意义。我们描述了从巴西东南部野生捕获的怀孕雌性产下的50条新生雅拉凯蝮蛇（Bothrops jararaca）和26条南美响尾蛇（Crotalus durissus terrificus）中的先天性骨骼病变。通过形态计量学定量分析、X射线显微断层扫描和组织病理学描述性分析对病变进行评估。形态计量学分析表明，雅拉凯蝮蛇的轴向病变（驼背、脊柱侧凸和脊柱后侧凸）比响尾蛇更为严重。雌性响尾蛇的轴向病变比雄性更严重。在响尾蛇中，脊柱畸形在身体尾段更常被诊断出来。我们展示了畸形蛇（n = 9）的X射线显微断层扫描评估和图像，并描述了新的畸形，例如在一个雅拉凯蝮蛇标本中额骨、顶骨和枕上骨发育不全。组织病理学发现包括椎体融合、肌炎、凝血性坏死和轴周肌纤维紊乱。本研究中提出的新方法和结果将对未来蛇类病理学、畸形学、胚胎学和生态毒理学的研究有用且提供信息。
