Example of an adenocarcinoma developed in the gastric lymph nodes of a harbor seal Phoca largha

Abstract

Adenocarcinomatous growths comprising glandular cavities surrounded by cuboidal to Iow columnar cells and a large amount of mucus produced by the mucous cells, were observed in the the gastric lymph nodes of a harbor seal Phoca largha. The seal was stranded on the coast of Toyama Bay, Sea of Japan, on 2 March, 1998. Necroscopic examination also showed the animal had significant signet ring cell carcinoma in the stomach, as has been reported elsewhere. The adenocarcinoma may have developed from metastatic cells arising in the gastric carcinoma.