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Diagnosis | Colonic obstruction due to severe vaginal distension

Lab Animal volume 35, pages 22–23 (2006)Cite this article

The female rat's colonic obstruction was a consequence of the pressure induced by a distended vagina packed with caseous copulatory-like plugs of spermatozoa. We believe the rat died of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), previously referred to as multiple organ failure. This is a progressive condition characterized by initiation of clotting mechanisms and the combined failure of several key organs, usually due to sepsis following injury or surgery.

We considered that bacteremia and sepsis might have developed from the colonic obstruction2. In the progression from sepsis to MODS, uncontrolled inflammatory response and hemolysis lead to acute failure of the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys. Heart failure can lead to hypotension, reducing the blood supply to the kidneys and instigating renal failure. Hemolysis due to the breakdown of red blood cells increases the level of free hemoglobin, potentially inducing acute renal failure from renal tubular damage. Kidney failure in turn leads to azotemia; depending on the severity and duration of renal dysfunction, metabolic acidosis, hyperkalemia, and abnormal fluid balance may also develop, leading to cardiac damage and failure. Although this sequence of events is speculative, the findings at gross necropsy are similar to findings described in humans with MODS and consistent with this diagnosis.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Paul Widden (microscopy) and Franc Rogan (urinalysis) for their contributions to this case.

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Diagnosis | Colonic obstruction due to severe vaginal distension. Lab Anim 35, 22–23 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban1106-22

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