Pseudo-placentational endometrial hyperplasia in the bitch: Case series

Abstract

Canine pseudo-placentational endometrial hyperplasia differs from the classical form of cystic endometrial hyperplasia for the well-organized tissue architecture resembling the canine placenta. After the discovery, it has been inconstantly reported. The present work reports the clinicopathologi-cal details of six spontaneous cases retrieved retrospectively from a large database. The lesion was found in young non-pregnant female dogs (median 2.0 years) at the end of dioestrus. It could be imaged by ultrasound and was always grossly detectable as single or multiple uterine enlargements of 2–3 cm in diameter with a villous whitish tissue growing on the mucosa and occluding the lumen. Histology confirmed the tissue architecture of the canine placenta with a basal glandular layer, a connective band, a spongy layer and a tortuous and compact labyrinth, often poorly recogniz-able. The pseudo-placentational hyperplasia is a non-inflammatory proliferative lesion although numerous mast cells inhabit the connective band, and a superimposed inflammatory infiltrate was seen in a case. Canine pseudo-placentational endometrial hyperplasia has very peculiar features, and it is a model for canine placentation and may help to better understand the cystic endometrial hyperplasia/pyometra complex.