Ventral Neck Swelling in a Dog: A Beautiful Spitty Mess!

I'm back to share a cool case I had this week with Pocket Pathologist telecytology service! 

This sample is from a 13 year old dog who has a soft swelling in his ventral neck area.

Let me first say that there's a LOT that can happen in the ventral neck. Enlarged lymph nodes, thyroid tumors, carotid body tumors...the list goes on. 

Luckily, what was going on in this dog has a unique cytologic appearance, so I instantly knew what it was. 

Here are some hints: 

• Pools of amorphous blue material
• Neutrophilic and macrophagic inflammation
• Hematoidin crystals (indicating chronic hemorrhage) 
• Windrowing (indicates sample viscosity)

So what is it? 

A salivary mucocele!

The list above outlines the textbook cytologic characteristics of a salivary mucocele. 

Enjoy the beautiful photos submitted by the vet in this case!