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Telomere length maintenance is regarded as a fundamental step in tumorigenesis, as most human brain tumors, including meningiomas, stabilize the ends of their chromosomes using telomerase. This investigation represents an introduction to telomerase expression in canine and feline meningiomas. Twenty-five archived cases (14 dogs and 11 cats) were immunohistochemically tested for human-telomerase reverse transcriptase (h-TERT), scored, and quantified; furthermore, mitoses were counted on sections stained with a modified toluidine blue. The h-TERT antibody immunolabelled the nucleus and nucleolus of meningeal neoplastic cells, with an intensity ranging from mild to strong and a speckled distribution; a significantly higher expression in cats was noted, while no significant association between h-TERT immunolabelling and sex or histotype was evident in dogs or cats. The telomerase enzyme represents a fundamental parameter of potential malignant transformation, which may occur independently of the signal to proliferate, thereby supplying the cells with unlimited growth capabilities. Telomerase expression could be a prognostic indicator independent of the kinetic parameters, although this should be evaluated using a larger dataset with available clinical information.

La collezione dei 2837 oggetti del Museo di Anatomia Patologica e Teratologia Veterinaria “Alessandrini-Ercolani”, fondato nel 1863 come Museo di Patologia Comparata, ha interesse storico e didattico, e comprende: plastiche in gesso e cera di lesioni organiche in colori e dimensioni originali, preparati a secco di animali con alterazioni teratologiche, una speciale raccolta di artropatie e numerosi disegni di patologie eseguiti dal famoso ceroplasta Cesare Bettini. Le plastiche a colori, uniche nel loro genere, riproducono anche malattie scomparse in Europa. Il volume contiene note sulla storia della collezione e dei fondatori, l’intero catalogo di Ercolani e 336 fotografie di preparazioni e disegni selezionati. The collection of 2837 items housed in the museum of Veterinary Pathology and Teratology “Alessandrini-Ercolani”, established in 1863 as Museum of Comparative Pathology, has an educational and an historical interest, and comprises: plastics in chalk, clay and wax, reproducing organic diseases in original volumes and colours, “dry” preparations of animals with teratological defects, a special exhibit of arthropathies, and large numbers of colour drawings of pathological specimens made by Cesare Bettini, the famous wax modeller of the same specimens. The coloured plastics are rare to the point of being unique and some of them reproduce diseases disappeared in Europe. This volume comprises historical notes on musem collections and founders, the entire Ercolani’s catalogue and 336 photographs of selected pathological anatomy preparations and drawings.

A case of mandibular salivary gland adenocarcinoma in a 9 year old female dog is described. Material collected by fine needle aspiration underwent cytological examination and after the diagnosis of salivary carcinoma the mass was surgically excised and then was processed for histological examination. The aim of this work is to describe the cytopathological features of this carcinoma and to emphasize the usefulness of fine needle aspiration technique, which is an effective, inexpensive and minimally invasive method of diagnosis that can be performed before incisional biopsy or even before surgical excision.