Necropsy Executive Summary

As animal age, degenerative conditions develop. This animal exhibited clinical progression of multiple degenerative changes with a cumulative impact resulting in death. The chronic cardiac valvular disease may have contributed to the lung disease (as is suggested by the presense of “heart failure cells” in the lungs). The ongoing inflammation and immune responses led to kidney disease from both immune protein deposition (amyloidosis) as well as tubular degeneration and mineralization, a typical aging change. The renal disease may have casused the gastritis and pituitary mineralization. Other findings may have been significant but with had undetermined clinical impact.