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A blood smear from a 10-year-old, spayed female, mixed breed dog was evaluated.  The patient was febrile, reluctant to jump in and out of the car, and hyporexic.  Approximately 25% of neutrophils contained rickettsial morulae (see figure for example) that were irregularly round, 1-2 microns, grey with a granular to punctate appearance.  A moderate thrombocytopenia and mild, non-regenerative...

Aspirates from malignant melanomas can have a varied cytologic appearance, ranging from a round cell appearance to clusters of cells suggestive of epithelial origin to individual, fusiform-shaped cells that are non-specific for mesenchymal cell origin.  All three appearances may be present in aspirates from the same tumor.  Making a definitive diagnosis of...

A liver aspirate from a 13-year-old, spayed female, mixed breed dog with increased ‘liver enzymes’.  A cluster of well-differentiated hepatocytes is present (Figure 1).  The cytoplasm is of a thinner density than normal and has a moth-eaten appearance that causes mild cytoplasmic distension.  The background is a...

Aspiratefrom a lymph node from a6.5-year-old, neutered, male cat.The lymph node had been mildly enlargedfor months and had recently started growing.The image consists a few macrophages, three small lymphocytesand twoneutrophils. Several of the macrophages contain 2-4 μm, oval yeast (Histoplasma capsulatum) with a thin, clear,...