A chronological study of the histopathology of filarial disease in cats and dogs caused by Brugia pahangi (Buckley and Edeson, 1956)

Abstract

Brugia pahangi infections in the lymph nodes of cats have been studied in serial sections stained with H & E at intervals of from 3 days to 16 months; material from a few dogs was also examined. The pathological changes are described and discussed in relation to the life cycle of the agent. Reactions were found to: living and dead larvae (third and fourth stage); moulting fluids and moulted cuticles of the third and fourth moults; uterine secretions, infertile eggs and microfilariae; and finally to living and dead adult worms. Pathological changes in dogs are strikingly more rapid and extreme than in cats. Basic causal mechanisms underlying some features of filarial disease are discussed in relation to the filarial life cycle, the lesions produced by worms and their products, the pattern of lymphatic drainage, and the functional physiology of the lymphatic system. © 1967 Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.