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A 7-year-old dog was presented with a history of an open lesion on the right thoracic wall, discharging honey-like fluid and small stones. Ultrasonography and computed tomographic fistulography identified a cholecystocutaneous fistula; cholecystectomy was curative. Veterinarians should consider this disease in patients with long-term discharging lesions on the right thoracic or abdominal wall.

In this study we investigated the somatotropic axis in piglets with evident growth delay. Female Suffolk crossbred piglets (30 days old; N = 12) were divided into normal weight (10 ± 0.9 kg) and poor growing subjects (7 ± 0.5 kg) and bled for growth hormone (GH), Insulin-like growth fac- tor-I (IGF-I), Insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 and 3 (IGFBP-2 and -3) determination. Basal and induced-GH levels were not different in the groups. Plasma IGF-I concentrations were signifi- cantly different (p < 0.001): 101.8 ± 9.8 ng.mL -1 (normal weight group) and 39.5 ± 4.0 ng.mL -1 (poor growing group). IGFBP-2 and -3 concentrations were significantly ( p < 0.001) lower in poor growing than in normal piglets. Piglet weight was positively correlated ( r = 0.98, p < 0.001) with IGF-I and IGFBP-2 or -3 concentrations. Our data indicate that growth rate was not correlated to basal or secretagogue-induced GH secretion. growth hormone / somatotropic axis / insulin-like growth factor I / insulin-like growth factor binding protein / piglet