Some rabbits we opened presented very pale lungs and we would like to know what could be the reason for this. Can it cause reproductive failures especially high kit mortality?
Could you be more specific?. Normal (healthy) lungs are pale (lightly pinkish). They become more red with the time (one-two hours) because the contact with the air.
The lungs are really pale. I have attached a photo of the lung.
They looks normal. No the haemorraghies in the ventral part of the diafragmatic lobule. The liver suface is also very irregular.
Could pale lungs and irregular grainy surfaces of the lungs be associated with the effect of Vitamin C supplementation in rabbits?
Dear Grace.
I have no news about pale lungs related with Vitamin C. Are there any other findings?.
None that we are aware of but because the rabbits were given graded levels of Vitamin C from 100 to 300g per day in drinking water for about 6 months, we noticed bloating of the abdomen and on opening them observed the pale lungs and grainy liver for all the treatment groups. I have checked literature available but has not been able to link the effect. Other rabbits that were opened before the study had pinker livers and normal livers. An additional information to this is the fact that the rabbits used in this study were imported from a temperate environment to a hot environment.
As I told you some months ago, a pale lung is normal when the thoracic cavity in recently opened and they are becoming reddish with the time. One hour after they are really red.
However, other question is the surface of the liver. They do not look normal in the picture.
Have you done any histological studies?.
Yes we have but no abnormalities in the histology of the lungs and liver were found. The lungs did not change colour long after opening the rabbits.
Send me some formalin fixed samples from liver and lungs, if you want, for an additional examination.
I could not send the samples because of restrictions on export of biologicals.