Incidence and Lobar Distribution of Bronchiectasis in a Colony of Wistar Albino Rats

Abstract

IN some recent dietary investigations using a closed colony of Wistar albino rats the most common pathological condition was an inflammatory and suppurative disease of the lungs. This disease, a form of bronchiectasis, occurs frequently as a natural disease in rats, both domesticated and wild¹, and has previously been described². In extent it varies from a small focus of inflammation in one lobe of the lung to the entire lung being shrunken and nodular, the tissue of each lobe being converted into large sacs consisting of distended bronchi filled with a compacted caseous mass. Nelson and Gowen¹ have reported the incidence of the disease in male and female rats but only from a total of 145 animals. Other reports give the percentage incidence for the entire colony regardless of age and sex^2,3. In the work recorded here 1,238 rats were examined and as no dietary differences were found⁴ the opportunity was taken to sum over diet to obtain a detailed picture of the incidence of this natural disease in the colony. Particulars of the maintenance of the colony are given by Hickman et al.⁵.