Pulmonary Botryomycosis in a Gill`s bottle-nosed Dolphin

A 14-year-old female Gill's bottle-nosed dolphin died after having 1 month history of depression, anorexia, and respiratory insufficiency. At necropsy, numerous well-demarcated tan firm nodules in variable sizes ranging from 2 m to 3 cm in diameter were scattered throughout the lung lobes. Histologically, the pulmonary nodules formed typical granulomatous inflammation. Center of the granulomatous foci consisted of necrotic center with gram positive cocci surrounded by eosinophilic Splendore-Hoeppli material then by macrophages, epithelioid cells, multinucleated giant cells, a few lymphocytes and fibroblasts. The is the first report of pulmonary botryomycosis in dolphin in Korea.

태평양돌고래에서 폐장의 포도상 진균증