Francesco Albanese

Canine and
Feline Skin
Cytology
A Comprehensive and
Illustrated Guide to the
Interpretation of Skin Lesions
via Cytological Examination

13
Canine and Feline Skin Cytology
Francesco Albanese

Canine and Feline Skin

Cytology
A Comprehensive and Illustrated Guide to the
Interpretation of Skin Lesions via Cytological
Examination
Francesco Albanese
Arezzo
Italy

ISBN 978-3-319-41239-9 ISBN 978-3-319-41241-2 (eBook)

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41241-2

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016959559

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I dedicate this book to my family,
To Chiara, my wife, whom I love as if it were
the first day
To my two jewels, Veronica and Emilio,
whose smiles remind me every day … how
lucky I am.
Foreword

This book is born with the aim of becoming a classic. Not only, obviously, because
it was conceived and born in Tuscany, Italy, but mainly because of its features and
outstanding quality. This is the first textbook focused exclusively on cutaneous
cytology of the dog and cat, a subspecialty that has developed enormously in recent
years. Medical and scientific textbooks constitute a mirror in which one can see the
state of the art of a discipline. Reading one general textbook should provide a
glimpse of the level of development of a specific scientific field. This book by
Francesco Albanese is an unquestionable proof of the extraordinary progress that
has experienced cutaneous cytology in recent decades; a technique that that has
become essential for the good practice of dermatology, due to its simplicity, speed,
minimally invasive character and high diagnostic value. This book will certainly
help to the expansion and proper use of cytology in veterinary dermatology in the
years to come.
The content of this book may be defined as exhaustive. The reader will find in it
all currently available knowledge on skin cytology of dog and cat, supported by an
extensive list of very updated and carefully selected bibliographic references. In
most cases, images and cytological features of a process are presented together with
the clinical picture and the corresponding histopathology, so that the reader has a
truly complete vision of the disease process and of the indications, use and limita-
tions of cytology. Undoubtedly, the comprehensive training of the author, clinical
dermatologist and also cytopathologist, has been instrumental in the design and
development of this work.
The extensive content of this book allows defining this work as broad spectrum,
suitable for all audiences. The student or the beginner in the science and art of cytol-
ogy will find extremely useful Chaps. 1 and 2, devoted to the morphology and func-
tion of skin cells and to collecting, preparation and staining techniques. The more
experienced reader will also find wealth of advanced information, especially in
Chaps. 3, 4, and 5, devoted to the cytology of specific canine and feline skin dis-
eases. Besides prevalent diseases, this book contains also the cytological character-
istics of less common and so far poorly documented diseases such as botryomycosis,
phaeohyphomycosis or cutaneous dirofilariasis, just to mention a few examples.

vii
viii Foreword

Chapter 5, for instance, contains absolutely novel information about cytology of

cutaneous metastasis, including metastasis to the skin of uncommon internal neo-
plasia as prostatic, gastric or salivary carcinomas.
Books, despite stiff competition from the new digital formats, continue being
objects of worship, full of charm and with an intangible value. The new e-books
have many advantages, but printed Books can be touched and fondled; books have
weight and give off specific odour and establish multiple links of various kinds with
the reader, including emotional or sentimental. The accuracy of this work, the qual-
ity of the images and printing, makes this book a precious object, almost of artisanal
value. During the reading of this book, leafing through its pages, it is easy to imagine
all the effort and illusion that the author devoted to each image, to each single expla-
nation or note. It is for sure that from now on we will see this book on the shelves
of libraries and veterinary clinics, alongside other classics of our profession.

Lluis Ferrer, DVM, PhD, Dipl.ECVD

Department of Clinical Sciences
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
Tufts University
Medfort
MA, USA
Curriculum Vitae

Francesco Albanese graduated in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Naples

“Federico II” in 1993. Since 1994, he has been focusing his interest in veterinary
dermatology by attending many congresses and courses in Italy and abroad. From
1996 to 1998, he attended the advanced course in dermatology at the European
School for Advanced Veterinary Studies (ESAVS). In June 2000, he passed the first
part of the exam for the European College of Veterinary Dermatology (ECVD). He
decided to not continue the final part. He is a full member of both the European
(ESVD) and the Italian (SIDEV) Society of Veterinary Dermatology. He has been
an invited speaker in many national and international workshops on canine and
feline skin cytology. He has published in both national and international journals,
He has also written some books on feline and canine dermatology and skin cytology
such as the Atlas of Dermatological Cytology of Dogs and Cats that has been trans-
lated into five languages. Dr. Albanese currently works as a freelancer on referred
canine and feline dermatological cases. He is also a consultant of dermatology, skin
cytology and histopathology for the private veterinary laboratory “La Vallonea”.

ix
Preface

In this textbook, the main cytological findings of neoplastic and non-neoplastic

(inflammatory) skin diseases of the dog and cat are discussed. The book is divided
into five chapters.
The first chapter focuses on the morphology of the cells that normally make up
the skin, knowledge of which is essential for interpreting pathological findings.
In the second chapter, diagnostic techniques that can be performed for the collec-
tion of cells from skin lesions are discussed. According to the clinical aspects of
skin lesions, it provides readers with the correct guidance with regard to which
technique to use to obtain a sample that is as indicative of its origin as possible.
The third and fourth chapters focus on non-neoplastic and neoplastic lesions
respectively, especially those that are useful to investigate using cytology. To better
interpret the cytological specimens, it is mandatory to know and distinguish the
clinical aspects of the skin lesions from where the cells have been sampled; for this
reason, in the chapter on inflammatory diseases, the author discusses the cytological
findings, starting from clinical signs and not based on the cytological inflammatory
patterns. This practical approach even allows veterinarians who are less confident in
dermatology to interpret the cytological results in a more rational way, and to obtain
critical information for interpretation.
The final chapter deals with the main metastatic neoplasms originating from
non-skin primary neoplasia.
The book is accompanied by about 750 high-resolution colour images, including
clinical, histological and cytological pictures, to exhaustively address all the clinico-
pathological aspects of skin lesions of the dog and cat.

Arezzo, Italy Francesco Albanese, DVM

xi
Acknowledgements

When you get to write a book for Springer, one of the most important book publish-
ers in the world, it means that there are many people to thank.
Throughout my professional life, I have met many people who, to a greater or
lesser extent, have contributed to my professional training and to whom I extend my
sincerest thanks.
• The first thanks are for to Prof. Lluis Ferrer (Dipl. ECVD), who has agreed to do
the foreword of my book. Well, what to say, I am very honoured by the fact that
the preface of this book is written by one of the most competent pathologists in
the world. However Lluis, as well as a great teacher of veterinary medicine, is
also a master of humility and humanity, as all the colleagues who work with him
and all the students, who as a professor, were able to see.Thanks Lluis, your
signature on this book makes me immensely proud; it is really a great gift!
• Thanks to Alessandro Fogliazza (Merial Italy), who gave me the opportunity to
write a few years ago Atlas of Dermatological Cytology of Dogs and Cats that
has been the springboard for the publication of this book.
• Thanks to Walter Bertazzolo (Dipl. ECVCP), who agreed to co-author the chap-
ter regarding the cytology of cutaneous metastases, enriching it with his experi-
ence and great skills in general cytopathology. Thanks Walter for your continuous
support and enthusiasm.
• Thanks to Professor Francesca Abramo who, besides being a dear friend, has
been an essential professional reference from the beginning of my career.
• Thanks to Giovanni Tortorella, a great professional, a great person, always ready
to smooth my vehement character, to give me comfort in times of crisis and to
support me in the most complex histopathological diagnosis.
• Thanks to Guglielmo Giordano, the owner of the private veterinary laboratory
“LaVallonea” for which I am proud to work. Thanks Guglielmo, for giving me
the opportunity to read dermatopathology for your lab, which has allowed me to
achieve a steady growth in this field.
• Thanks to Laura Marconato (dipl.ECVIM-CA Oncology) for her continued sup-
port about my questions on clinical oncology of dogs and cats.

xiii