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Icterus is the accumulation of yellow pigment in the blood and tissues. It is one of the most dramatic features of liver disease and is clinically recognised as jaundice.
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The liver is a vital, complex organ which performs a number of crucial functions, principally involved with metabolism and is sometimes termed the "factory of the body" which controls many of the chemical processes necessary for normal bodily function.
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Cancers of the liver cells are called hepatocellular adenomas and carcinomas.
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The liver has a massive blood supply so many cancer cells from elsewhere arrive within it and start to grow. In dogs metastatic tumours are three times as common as primary tumours and over 30% of malignant cancer is said to metastasize to the liver.
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Most lung cancers originate from the epithelium lining the airways. In dogs, most are from the alveoli where oxygen is taken up into the body but in people and in cats, most originate in the main airways (bronchi).
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Cancer of the cells of the lymph nodes (lymphoma, lymphosarcoma) has to be distinguished from other causes of lymph node swelling by histopathology. Some types of cancer are slower growing than others but all are potentially life-threatening.
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This is a tumour originating from cells of the mammary glands. Most tumours are potentially or already malignant so early surgical removal is important so there is no spread to other parts of the body (metastasis).
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This is a tumour originating from the body's mast cells. The tumours include both benign (non-spreading) and malignant (life-threatening, spreading) types.
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There are two main types of internal (visceral) mast cell tumours, one originating in the blood forming (haemopoietic) organs, such as the spleen and bone marrow, and the other originating in the gut (usually the intestine but occasionally the stomach).
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Melanocytes are cells that produce a pigment called melanin. They are found in many parts of the body where there is pigment, particularly skin, hair and eyes.
