On Dec. 30, 1949 a male opossum of undetermined age was presented at Stange Memorial Clinic, with a history of having lost its hair in irregular shaped patches

Swift, George E.

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On Dec. 30, 1949 a male opossum of undetermined age was presented at Stange Memorial Clinic, with a history of having lost its hair in irregular shaped patches.</p

Swift, George

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into apposition and closed by a continuous dermic suture supported by several in-terrupted dermic sutures. A sterile gauze pad was placed over the wound region and held in place by an "Ace" bandage which encircled the body, compressing the abdomen in that region. An injection of 400,000 O.U. of aqueous penicillin was given intramus-cularly in the right thigh, and 25 cc. of anti-canine distemper serum given sub-cutaneously in the flanks. An unfavor-able prognosis was given by the surgeon because of the extent of the tissue dam-age in the bladder. The patient was then returned to his kennel. The temperature of the dog remained within normal limits during his entire stay at the clinic. On the second post-operative day, the bandage was removed. The sutures were all in place, the area dry, and no swelling evident. Urine, which was slightly bloody the day before, was becoming clearer. During the following days, the dog became unmanageable, threatening any-one who approached him. His appetite improved and he drank a good deal of water. When snared for examination, he urinated freely in his excitement, said urine appearing normal in color and con-sistency. On Jan. 7, 1950, the seventh post-operative day, he was snared and 2 gr. of morphine sulfate with 1/ 25 gr. of atrophine sulfate injected subcutaneously in the flank. When completely quieted by the narcotic, he was manually restrained upon the operating table. All of the der-mic sutures in the skin were removed. The operative wound was completely closed and healed. The patient was discharged the follow-ing day. Thomas Flynn, '50 A Case of Alopecia Areata in an Opossum. On Dec. 30, 1949 a male opossum of undetermined age was presented at Stange Memorial Clinic, Spring, 1950 Fig. 3. Opossum showing Alopecia Areata. with a history of having lost its hair in irregular shaped patches. Microscopic examination of skin scrap-ings was negative for parasites. A diagnosis of nutritional alopecia areta was made. Cod liver oil was admin-istered per os for 12 consecutive days. A proprietary skin lotion containing a local anesthetic and an antihistamine drug, was applied topically to relieve the ir-ritated skin. The hair was beginning to reappear on the involved areas, and the skin appeared normal when the animal was discharged on Jan. 17, 1950. George E. Swift, '51 97 

A Case of Alopecia Areata in an Opossum

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A Case of Alopecia Areata in an Opossum

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