To Amy and Tavvi -
 
        I don't think the pathologist Dr. Gondolfi is using (Dr. G. seems nice -
spoke with him yesterday for the first time)does a lot of ferret tissue
(probably not, being based in CA.)
 
        Chondrosarcoma is not the correct diagnosis for that slide - this was
proven about five years ago, in favor of the chordoma, as we have previously
discussed.  The two biggest papers on chordomas have both come out of the AFIP,
where we looked at over 25 of these tumors  and discovered that they arose from
primitive spinal cord tissue, rather than cartilage-making tissue.  They look
like chondrosarcomas of the dog, but if you know your ferret tissue, they're
chordomas. Malignant - no.   I'm glad Dr.Gondolfi is sending a copy of the
slide, anyway.
 
        I wouldn't say that blood in the urine is normal for a ferret, or even
OK.  We do eventually have to either find the source of the blood, or at least
find that it is no longer present.
       Bruce Williams, DVM                 Department of Veterinary Pathology
       [log in to unmask]         Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
       (202) 782-2600/2602                 Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
[Posted in FML issue 1087]