Unilateral renal agenesis in Chilean-flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis)

Oliveira, Elton Luís Ritir; Costa, André Luiz Mota da; Borges, Mariana Fischer; Nemer, Viviane Christiane; Gonçalves, Raphael Augusto Baldissera; Vasconcellos, Matheus; Pereira, Keylla Helena Nobre Pacifico; Schimming, Bruno Cesar

Unilateral renal agenesis in Chilean-flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis)

Oliveira, Elton Luís RitirCosta, André Luiz Mota daBorges, Mariana FischerNemer, Viviane ChristianeGonçalves, Raphael Augusto BaldisseraVasconcellos, MatheusPereira, Keylla Helena Nobre PacificoSchimming, Bruno Cesar

Background: Phoenicopterus chilensis is a South American wild bird classified as a near threatened specie in the List ofEndangered Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. With the increase of the contact between human population and wild animals, this species habitat is becoming increasingly vulnerable, with a declining population.Due to the importance of its conservation, the knowledge of abnormalities that affect this species becomes essential. Thisreport aims to describe the first diagnosed case of unilateral renal agenesis in chilean-flamingo.Case: A captive male chilean-flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) was found dead in its enclosure and then was referredat necropsy. The cause of death was the presence of tracheal fungal granuloma, caused by Aspergillus sp. Macroscopically,during the examination of the body cavity, the absence of the right kidney was noted, also evidencing the absence of thecaudal renal vein. Emerging from the caudal division of the kidney was noted a blind-end renal vessel. For the histopathological examination, the remaining kidney was fixed in 10% formalin, processed by paraffin embedding technique andstained with Hematoxylin and Eosin (HE). When analyzing the left kidney parenchyma, preserved histological architecturewas noted, without any changes in the tissue structures of the organ. Thus, no hypertrophy by compensatory mechanismsof the remaining kidney was observed.Discussion: Unilateral renal agenesis is a very rare congenital defect in dogs, cats and also in birds. It occurs in the complete absence of one of the kidneys, a situation with which the animal can live satisfactorily if there is a normal kidney toassume the functions. In association, ipsilateral ureteral agenesis and compensatory...(AU)