iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Have you ever seen a more perfect section of a rumen fluke (Paramphistomum liorchis)? Usually they fall off during fixation but this one is still sucking down on that rumen papilla. Only the oral sucker is visible in sxn… OK, so it’s not "perfect"! But pretty close. Domestic cow, rumen, HE stain.

This image is of a transverse section of a trematode (Paramphistomum liorchis) attached to the lining of the rumen. The rumen surface forms small finger-like projections called papillae. The oral sucker, but not the ventral sucker of this fluke is visible in section and the oral sucker is sucking on the rumen papilla.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Beautiful representation of feather follicles from a chickadee. A happy accident from the histology lab. They are not supposed to be sectioned obliquely but it makes them look pretty interesting in an abstract sort of way. 🪶

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

California is no stranger to domoic acid, but this year it's much worse much earlier. Stranded pinnipeds often exhibit listlessness, head bobbing, disorientation and seizures. Mortality rates are estimated to be ~25% www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-stor... #VetMed #MarineMammal #VetPath

A sea lion with domoic acid poisoning experiencing involuntary muscle spasms. This is a female sea lion lying on her side on a beach. Her muzzle and left flipper pointing skyward. She has domoic acid poisoning and was experiencing involuntary muscle spasms.

Credit: Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

Not a new article, but it's worth posting again just in case you missed it. Bullfrogs are normally tadpoles for 2 or 3 years. Something disrupted this one's metamorphosis so it just kept on growing! I love the references for scale! #frogs #wildlife www.americanscientist.org/blog/from-th...

Photos of a giant bullfrog tadpole. the panel on the left compares it so a similarly sized banana, and a tape measure showing that it is nearly 11 inches long. The right panel compares it to a beer can. It is not the first time I have seen someone use a beer can or a beer bottle as a size reference. I guess you use what you've got. And they are a constant size.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

An exhibitionist egret on display. These courtship threads beat millinery any day. Populations of common #egrets (and other spp.) were once decimated so we could put their nuptial plumes in women’s hats. Goshen Swamp, Liberty Co, Georgia. #birds #wildlife #NaturePhotography #Photography

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

These are some crazy kidneys! You don't have to be a pathologist to think these lesions are beautiful! I have suspicions as to pathogenesis, but histo will tell. 9-yo dog. Clinicians susp granulomatous osteomyelitis of lumbar v but no gross lesions were evident. #pathsky #vetpath #RenalPath

This is the cut surface of a kidney that has been sectioned longitudinally. Six poorly demarcated, dark-red, wedge-shaped foci extend from the corticomedullary margin to the pelvis and are 4 to 7 mm wide at the corticomedullary junction. One, which corresponds to a cranial cortical depression, is itself slightly depressed on cut surface (infarct).The cortex of the left kidney has five, focal to focally extensive discolored foci that are restricted to the superficial one-half of the cortex. The smallest of these are rectangular, dark red foci in which each edge of the rectangular focus is approximately 5 mm. The largest of the superficial cortical foci consists of a 6 cm long band in the outer one-half of the cortex. All of the larger foci have a pink core with a ground glass surface (necrosis) surrounded by a 1-mm-thick yellow margin that is in turn surrounded by a 1-mm-thick, red outer margin of tissue. Close inspection reveals congested glomeruli in the less affected cortex, but these are not visible in the necrotic regions.

A macroscopic image of the canine kidney previously described. Less affected regions are uncharacteristically yellow. There are scattered aminar, supericial-cortical lesions. The smallest are dark red. The largest have a pink core with a ground glass surface (necrosis) surrounded by a 1-mm-thick yellow margin that is in turn surrounded by a 1-mm-thick, red outer margin of tissue. If you look closely you can see pin-point red structures scattered throughout the cortex that correspond to glomeruli.

The image depicts the right kidney from this case that has been sectioned longitudinally through the hilum. The section on the left shows the cut surfaces. The one on the right shows the capsular surface with the capsule removed. The capsular surface is speckled red and yellow with hundreds of widely scattered, pinpoint, red foci that are only visible with very close inspection (suspect congested or hemorrhagic glomeruli). The larger red foci account for half of the surface of the right kidney and they extend into the outer one-half of the cortex on cut surfaces. The kidney is otherwise pale.

This is a macroscopic photo of the right kidney. On cut surface the red foci are mostly limited to the superficial one-half of the cortex. Pinpoint red dots are clearly visible here, and they likely correspond to discolored glomeruli. The remainder of the cortex is yellow and it should be reddish brown.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

It's that time of year again! The #egrets are getting frisky. My parents are lucky enough to have a rookery in their backyard. Common egret, Liberty Co, #Georgia #birds #nature #wildlife #NaturePhotography #Nikon #swamp

A common egret displays its plumes in the top of a cypress tree. The bird is holding its neck in a semicurl and the plumes are spread behind it like a snow white peacock. The photograph resulted in the whites being a little blown out in the birds back. Hard to get everything balanced with these white birds in a dark swamp.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Here's a case you don’t see every day! A hepatic sarcoma in a rat caused by tapeworm larvae. Taenia taeniaformis infestation with chronic inflammation and spindle-cell proliferation paves the way for neoplastic transformation. Nature is weird sometimes! #skypath #vetpath #parasites

This is a subgross image of liver with a large tumor containing a blood filled cavity that has multiple sections of tapeworm larvae. A bit of the hepatic parenchyma is on the upper right. H&E-stained section.

Here are cross sections of the degenerate tapeworm larvae from the previous image. They lack detail but the calcareous corpuscles are still visible. These appear to be strobilocerci. As I understand it, this tapeworm initially forms cysticerci in the rat which then metamorphose into strobilocerci. H&E-stained section.

This image demonstrates the fibrosarcoma on the right and the interface with the extant hepatic parenchyma on the left. The neoplasm is well demarcated in this section. In others it was more directly invasive and widespread metastases were all through the abdomen. This seemed to be a case of true sarcomatosis. Implantation of bits of neoplasia directly on the serosal surfaces of the abdomen, leading to additional tumors.

A high magnification image of this neoplasm. Neoplastic cells have significant variability in size. They are generally oval to round. Mitotic figures and apoptotic cells are occasionally seen.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Coolest biopsy of the week! A coenurus from the brain of a cat. This tapeworm larvae has multiple invaginated scolices. The cat was doing well when discharged 7 days post op. #VetPath #PathSky #Parasites #Histopathology

MRI of a cat brain. There is a cystic mass in the right temporal lobe that extended to the frontal lobe.

Subgross section of the biopsy sample from this cat. Multiple scolices are attached to the inside of the cyst visible on MRI. This is consistent with a coenurus. Taenia sp., including Taenia multiceps, Taenia serialis, Taenia brauni, and Taenia glomeratus are capable of producing coenuri. A hydatid cyst could have a similar appearance but a coenurus is more likely given the signalment and location of the patient. PCR and sequence results are pending.

Histopathology slide demonstrating four scolices with hooks and suckers that are variably visible in this section. The presence of multiple scolices in a cysticercoid tapeworm larvae indicates a coenurus or a hydatid cyst. This was most likely a coenurus due to a Taenia sp.

A detail of the scolex from the coenurus of the cat presented. Hooks are evident in the middle of the field with suckers to either side of it. It will have four suckers in total, but the others are out of the plane of section. Calcareous corpuscles are visible in the stroma.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

The great-tailed grackle. My most favorite of all the grackles. Look at that tail! Look at that beak! He is seems pretty proud of the whole package. Woodland, CA. I wonder how long before they try to change the name to Quiscalus americanus. #birds #wildlifephotography #naturephotography

A long, sleek blackbird, a great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) sits perched on a limb looking over his back. The dark irridescent plumage indicates that this is a male. He has a piercing yellow eye, a very long beak and a large tail that is slightly longer than his body.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Looking for opinions on this (alleged) ovarian mass from a garter snake. I presume the amphophilic material is redundant basement membrane. Could this be a granulosa cell tumor? We have seen those in snakes (incl garter snakes) but this one is odd. #pathsky #vetpath #veterinary #tumor #repro

Two sections ostensibly of ovary are present on this microscope slide. The subgross reveals the slightly basophilic masses with tortuous blood vessels adjacent to them.

A high magnification view of an ovarian neoplasm from a giant garter snake. The tumor is composed of cords and islands of epithelial cells surrounded by a wide margin of amphophilic material interpreted to be basement membrane material.

Alternate high magnification view of an ovarian neoplasm from a giant garter snake. The tumor is composed of cords and islands of epithelial cells surrounded by a wide margin of amphophilic material interpreted to be basement membrane material.

Another high magnification view of the ovarian neoplasm from a giant garter snake. The tumor is composed of cords and islands of epithelial cells surrounded by a wide margin of amphophilic material interpreted to be basement membrane material.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

I think it is almost certainly avian pox. Here is one on the eyelid of another crow. I should bring my telephoto lens to try for a better photo of this bird. It has been hanging around for a while now.

Lateral view of an American crow head. The inferior eyelid has a papillomatous mass that extends from the surface. This was confirmed to be a case of avian pox.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

What's your diagnosis? American crow with a lesion on the back of the shank. I've seen this bird every day for a week and a half. #VetPath #AvianDisease #Veterinary #DermPath

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Normally we go to Lake Solano (Yolo Co, California) to see the migrator waterfowl, especially the buffleheads and goldeneye. This day the #RiverOtters were putting on more of a show. #mammals #WildlifePhotography #Nikon #wildlife

This photo shows a river otter lying on a log on the bank of a river. The otter is very wet and is staring into the camera. There seems to be a scar on his lip, I presume from fighting.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

A new kind of box #fish? Nope! It's much more interesting. This fishy cell has been stained with an antibody specific for rabies. They don't call it neurotropic for nothing! Antigen fills the cytoplasm but spares the nucleus creating a stark contrast betw the two.🧪 #histopath #PathSky #VetPath

This slide is a highly magnified sample of brainstem from a rabid bobcat. Ihas a single neuron with branched axon at one end and a large nucleus with a prominent nucleolus at the other end. The cytoplasm has been stained brown by an immunohistochemistry stain specific for the rabies virus. Another process extends from a point adjacent to the bifurcated axon. The unstained nucleolus and the processes give the distinct appearance of a fish.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

A beautiful cleared example of Fascioloides magna that was submitted to the vet school. The large liver fluke leads to condemnation of beef livers and can cause significant disease in sheep and goats. I see it in white-tailed #deer, who don't seem affected. #veterinary #parasitology #trematode

This is a photo of a fluke, a parasitic flatworm. This is Fascioloides magna, the large liver fluke. It has been cleared giving it an overall golden brown appearance with a clearly delineated GI tract. The oral sucker is visible at the apex of the anterior end. the ventral sucker is visible just behind it. The worm was provided by Dr. Lauren Camp. The photos are mine.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

Here is an awesome case from our #histopathology conference this morning! Lung from a #macaque. What's your dx? The residents hate it when I say, "It's a classic". But it is! 😊 #VetPath #PathSky #lung #parasites

Dome shaped histopathology section of lung with three dark nodules scattered in the parenchyma. The nodules are dark purple (basophilic) and have open spaces visible at low power.

This is a medium-magnification of the lung previously described. The center consists of a nodular region in whch the parenchymais thickened by inflammtory infiltrates. The clef visible in the middle of the focus is presumably an airway. Two small structures in the middle of the airway are ovoid to round and are mottled pink to red.

$This is a higher magnification of the structures in the airway that was previously described. The tissue to the left and right of the open space (airway) is heavily infiltrated by inflammatory cells.The structures in the middle have a bosselated surface and contain structures that stain brightly eosinophilic (red) to basophilic (purple). The thin shell around the outside is refractile and brown.$ $This slide contains sections of a jointed appendage from the intrabronchial structures previously described. A nonstaining, brown refractile cuticle of varying thickness is on the surface. Linear eosinophilic structures with attachment points at the ends are present inside the appendage. These have striations and represent skeletal muscle.$

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Last night friends asked me about the genetic test for intervertebral disk #disease (IVDD) in #dogs. I'm proud to say this comes from my department. Fibroblast growth factor 4 (FGF4) retrogene insertion on chromosome 12 (CFA12) #Science #VetPath #neurology journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

This is a sagital section through two vertebrae and the associated intervertebral disk from a young dog. the intervertebral disk is slightly pear shaped and it's long axis is perpendicular to the vertebral column. There are some clefts that are features of chondrodystrophy. The intervertebral disk is bracketed by physes on either side. These are visible as vertical columns of purple cartilage. The photo is my own. I started to include a plate from the article, but I figured I would just get a nasty letter from Sage for copyright infringement!

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

One of my favorite #birds. Like many #neotropical migrants, numbers of prothonatary #warblers are declining due to #HabitatLoss. The #cypress swamp where I took this photo was clear cut last year. It's just a big muddy hole now. #nature #wildlife. #WildlifePhotography

This image is of a deep golden-yellow prothonatary warbler sitting on the branches of bald cypress. The bird has grey wings and a dark eye.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

When I was a resident we received a #parrot w/ #Chlamydia. The owner told us the ref vet said the bird prob got it from sexual contact with a person! 😂 Sounds dangerous! I hope our students now learn the difference between C psittaci and C trachomatis! 😬 #InfectiousDisease #Veterinary #bacteria

This is a golden conure sitting on a branch. The bird has raised its left foot to its mouth and is nibbling on it. The plumage is a rich yellow color with edge of green feathers just visible on the wings. This is a photo I took at ZooParque in Itatiba, Sao Paulo State, Brazil.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Come to Davis for the West Coast #Veterinary #Pathology Conference, May 2-3! We've got great speakers lined up, and we will have some fantastic cases for you to learn from. I promise it will be worth the trip. davisthompsonfoundation.org/event/great-... #VetPath #ReproPath #Theriogenology

This is the image of a poster advertising the 42nd Annual West Coast Veterinary Pathology Conference, May 2nd to 3rd, 2025. The title is Great Gonads and Tubular Tales of Reproductive Pathology. Photos of our speakers, Dalen Agnew, Al Conley and Justin Vidal, are included on the poster.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

We identified spatiotemporal clusters of #Chlamydia buteonis infection in raptors in Northern California. Cases were concentrated in winter near Sacramento. Uncertain why the spatial clustering occurs. #hawks #epidemiology #InfectiousDisease #Veterinary avmajournals.avma.org/view/journal...

This is an image of the underside of a red-tailed hawk soaring in a clear blue sky. The hawk is looking downward and wings are outspread. Photo by Kevin Keel

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

I see many cases of #Chlamydia buteonis in #hawks @ UC Davis. I NEVER diagnosed it in 10 years of cases from the southeastern US. I'm sure I wasn't just missing cases in the SE. The hepatosplenomegaly and dark liver are profound. Airsaculitis is variable. #VetPath #Veterinary #InfectiousDisease

This slide shows the abdominal viscera from a hawk. The liver is situated at the top of the image. It is very large and very dark. The spleen is red and is very enlarged as well. The airsacs are thickened but no discrete plaques are visible.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Check out the massive numbers of #microsporidia in these sections! How many times have you had to search for #Encephalitozoon cuniculi? This is E. pogonae in #kidney of a bearded dragon. The lizards know how to grow Encephalitozoon. #PathSky #VetPath #Veterinary #Parasitology #Histopathology

This is a hematoxylin and eosin stained section of kidney from a bearded dragon. Encephalitozoan pogonae, a microsporidian, expands they cytoplasm of many cells. Nuclei of cells are dark purple and the parenchyma is mostly pink (eosinophilic). The microsporidians are elongate. They have a polar tube and posterior vacuole that create some differential staining of the organism.

This is an acid-fast stained section of kidney from a bearded dragon. Encephalitozoan pogonae, a microsporidian, expands they cytoplasm of many cells and these organisms are stained a bright fuchsia color. The counterstain turns the background tissue light blue.

This is a gram stained section of kidney from a bearded dragon. Encephalitozoan pogonae, a microsporidian, expands they cytoplasm of many cells. Nuclei of cells are verydark purple. The cells and fibrous connective tissue in the backgrounds are pink . The microsporidians are elongate. Although many are aggregated in host cells, some are scattered in the tissue.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

A dark morph red-tailed hawk for any (other) birding pathologists out there. A small lesion is on the left aspect of the cere. Apparent case of avian pox. Often self-limiting, but it can severely damage the rhamphotheca of raptors. Cedarville, CA #vetpath #birds #wildlife #InfectiousDisease

A red-tailed hawk in flight and facing the left side of the frame. This is a very darkly pigmented variant of the red-tailed hawk, but it still has a red tail. The wings are outstretched but flex slightly downward. A small nodule is at the base of the beak on the left side. This is likely a proliferative lesion caused by an avian poxvirus.

A closely cropped image of a dark-morph red-tailed hawk in flight. The left-lateral aspect of the cere, at the base of the beak, has a small gray nodule. This is likely proliferation due to infection with avian poxvirus.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

I took this photo of a sidewinder ages ago when I was doing my PhD in Tucson. It was a good time to put my telephoto lens to use. They are the fastest #rattlesnake. Most bites in AZ are due to the more common western diamondbacks. #wildlife #wildifephotography #nature #snakes #herps

A sidewinder rattlesnake (Crotalus cerastes) coiled up and facing the camera. The raised super-ocular scales look like horns and impart a menacing appearance. The image has a shallow focal plane such that only the eye and adjacent parts of the head are in focus. The rattles, although blurry, are visible in the lower right part of the image.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

AL amyloid in nasal mucosa of a horse. There was some disagreement in rounds over the papillomatous proliferation of the mucosa. I assumed it was just induced by edema and the pressure of the amyloid. Others thought it was strange with no ready explanation. #vetpath #PathSky #veterinary

This is a subgross image of a section of nasal mucosa from a horse that forms a papillary mass. The mucosa is expanded by amyloid, but that is not readily apparent at this magnification. A small amount of hemorrhage is scattered on the surface.

A higher magnification of the papillary proliferation of equine nasal mucosa with submucosal amyloid. The surface is highly folded due to the irregular proliferation of mucosa. The submucosa is expanded and some large islands of amorphous, eosinophilic amloid are evident at this magnification.

A high magnification image of an H&E stained section of equine nasal mucosa. The submucosa is expanded by fragmented islands of amorphous, pink (eosinophilic) amyloid. Negatively stained spaces between the amyloid plaques may represent edema, or artifactual shrinkage of tissues in processing.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

All the other #ducks had beak envy. The lamellae along the edge of this northern shoveler's large bill are adaptations that help it filter food items from the water. Yolo County, California, USA #birds #waterfowl #wildlife #nature #WildlifePhotography

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

What's your dx? Laryngeal mass in a dog. We don't see too many of these in veterinary medicine. I'm curious if the MD's think it's a slam dunk without IHC. #PathSky #VetPath #Veterinary #RespiratoryPathology #Pathology

This is a photo of a hematoxylin and eosin-stained microscope slide with three irregularly shaped sections of tissue. All three include sheets of darkly staining cells. The two sections to the left are covered by a thin layer of epithelium and the subepithelial connective tissue is rarefied, consistent with edema.

This is a higher magnification of the slide previously described. Longitudinal sections of a few muscle fibers are on the left side of the tissue. Sheets of cells with dark, basophilic (purple) nuclei are present on the right side and constitute the bulk of the sample. A small number of these cells extend between myofibers. A bit of hemorrhage is scattered within the mass.

This is a high magnification image of the mass previously described. Most of the cells have abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm and round to oval nuclei with lightly stippled chromatin and 1 to 2 small nucleoli. A contiguous region that is about 1/3 of the right side of the image is composed of cells with similary nuclei, but smaller amounts of more basophilic cytoplasm. Mostly cell borders are indistinct but rare cells are set off by clear space and they are round. Rare cells have cytoplasmic inclusions in the nuclei.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

Here is a cool #histopathology slide to take your mind off the worries of the world! Eurytrema procyonis (a fluke for those wondering) in the pancreatic duct of a #raccoon. This #trematode is pretty well host adapted and is usually an incidental finding. #VetPath #PathSky #Parasite

The slide depicts a section of pancreas with a central pancreatic duct that is filled by multiple sections of small flatworms. It is hard to see much detail in the worms at this magnification, but the fibrous connective tissue around the pancreatic duct might be a bit thick.

Two sections of flukes (trematodes). The bottom fluke is in a transverse section. It contains multiple pigmented oval eggs and the paired ceca (stars), part of it's digestive tract are visible on either side. The fluke at the top of the image is sectioned more obliquely, but the eggs and the paired sections of the digestive tract are still visible. The section of this fluke also shows a testis (arrow). Flukes are hermaphroditic.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

Every year during the wildfires in our area, I look at the ash on the hood of my car and wonder whose house that once was. Did it belong to a friend of mine? Are they hurt?

This is a photo of a wildfire with a house mostly consumed by fire. The whole image is tinted orange from the flames. The house is still burning, but only the studs remain.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Everybody seems to have a weekday theme, so I'm calling this wormy Wednesday! This is a very nicely cleared Fascioloides magna from a cow. I think the branching structures are the intestinal tract. Even flukes can be beautiful! #parasite #parasitology #veterinary #trematode

This is a large liver fluke (Fascioloides magna) that has been made translucent (cleared) so that internal organs are visible. The worm is lanceolate or leaf shaped with a narrower end at the top (the head). A small cup shaped structure (oral sucker) is present on the tip of the head. A round structure (the ventral sucker) is a short distance back from the oral sucker. Overall the worm is dark yellow. Along each side of the body a long dark tube extends toward the caudal end of the worm and many branches extend from this towards the sides of the worm. Dr. Lauren Camp provided the worm. I took the photo.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

This #Canada goose sticks a perfect landing. My photography tribute to our cousins up North. I am sorry our family is so dysfunctional! Woodland, California, May 2024 #birds #wildlife #Wildlife #waterfowl

A Canada goose is landing on water, with feet outstretched, it's wings cupped and water spraying away from the bird as it just touches down. This mature bird has a dark, almost black neck and a sharp white chin strap.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

I am excited to begin my #OneHealth class for the undergraduates today. I'm working hard to inspire some of these kids to tackle these problems when they graduate. It's the least I can do, since my generation (and previous gen's) left such a mess for them. #Veterinary #WildlifeHealth #teaching

This is a title slide for a presentation. The background is a flock of widgeon, a type of duck, sitting on the water with one taking off in flight. The male widgeon have a white strip down the center of their head and irridescent green plumage on the sides of the head. Because of the white on the crown of their head, they used to be called bald pate. The title of the slide is "Avian Influenza: Why and how it is the perfect one-health problem.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

#MarineMammal harassment is an ever increasing problem. I photographed this jack ass at Children's Pool Beach. The #SeaLion was too boring for him while she was asleep, so he started poking her with the selfie stick. Apparently he's never seen a bite wound from a sea lion! #wildlife #nature

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

More images of the so-called Bullwinkle #deer from our paper a few years ago. The disease is relatively infrequent; many of our cases started w/ images posted on social media. Mannheimia granulomatis infection. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... #PathSky #vetpath #CitizenScience #veterinary

A plate of four images. At upper left is a deer with a greatly swollen nose. At upper right is a transverse section throught the inflamed muzzle showing a very thickened subcutis. The lower left image is a macroscopic view of the transverse section of the inflamed skin. The surface is covered by hair. The dermis and subcutis contain dozens of small yellow nodules that glisten and bulge on cut surface. These correspond to foci of pyogranulomatous inflammation. The lower right image is of a histopathology section at high magnification. It has an irregularly shaped, dark pink aggregate (Splendore-Hoepli material) surrounded by sheets of neutrophils and macrophages. A small purple colony of bacteria is encased by the Splendore-Hoepli material.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

My dog is trying to enforce some work-life balance for me! #dogs #BoykinSpaniel #faculty

This is a photo of an out-of-shape, middle-aged, white guy sitting in his faculty office with a little brown dog in his lap. The dog is about 40 lbs, and has short to medium-length, wavy, chocolate-colored hair. This is a Boykin spaniel. The office is very messy. You can see a microscope with a dust cover, an elk skull in the background and a couple of jackets on the back of the door. The dude is wearing a baseball cap, glasses and a very fashionable dark-green sweater that his wife gave him for Christmas.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

Images from one of my Bullwinkle deer. This is rostral cellulitis due to Granulomatis mannheimia. We don’t often see gram-negative bacteria causing granulomatous inflammation. But you can see why I nicknamed them Bullwinkle deer! The Demodex sp (the mites in the hair follicle) are incidental.

This is an image of a female white-tailed deer facing away and looking back over her left shoulder. She is uniformly brown and has a very enlarged, bulbous nose. The enlarged nose gives her an appearance similar to that of Bullwinkle, the moose from the old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons. Photo credit: Anthony Davis, US Fish and Wildlife Service.

$This is a low magnification image of haired skin with the epidermis at the top of the slide. The epidermis is a dark pink (eosinophilic) band. A few hair follicles appear as linear structures perpendicular to the surface. They are lined by the dark-pink epithelium but often have a central hair shaft that is poorly stained and refractive or an empty lumen, indicating the hair shaft has been removed. Some follicles have elongate structures that are variably purple (basophilic) to pink (eosinophilic). These are mites of the genus Demodex. The dermis of the slides is a lighter shade of pink and it includes multiple variably sized nodules that have a grainy appearance due to the many leucocytes that infiltrate these foci. They also have numerous smaller eosinophilic aggregates known as Splendore-Hoeppli material. The Splendore-Hoeppli material is a concretion of various host proteins including antigen-antibody complexes, fibrin and other host material. The Splendore-Hoeppli material is surrounded by sheets of cells with a lobate nucleus and tiny granules in the cytoplasm. These are neutrophils. The neutrophils of ruminants are more eosinophilic, but are distinguished from eosinophils because they lack the There are epithelioid macrophages that are larger, have large nuclei and abundant cytoplasm.$

This is a higher magnification image of three aggregates of Splendore-Hoeppli material. They are dark pink (eosinophilic), have an irregular or geometric shape, and the margins are covered in many, short, rod-shaped projections that are tightly apposed. The center of the Splendore-Hoeppli material is more basophilic (purple) and has a grainy appearance. The color and grainy texture are due to the colonies of bacteria which are encased by the Splendore-Hoeppli material.

This is a longitudinal section of a hair follicle with two longitudinal sections of mites. The mites are a species of Demodex. The hair follicle is oriented diagonally and is lined by flattened, pink, epithelial cells. A hair shaft is not visible and the lumen is empty except for the mites. The mites are elongate. They have a thin cuticle that is variably pink (eosinophilic) or negatively stained. They contain many small purple (basophilic) cells. One mite has four, pink, round, lamellar structures on one side. These are transverse sections through the base of the legs. The dermis surrounding the hair follicle is composed of wavy bundles of thin pink filaments (collagen). There are several negatively stained spaces, which are lined by flattened cells. These are consistent with lymphatic ducts. Several smaller round structures have a lumen filled with red, anucleate cells (red blood cells) and a lining of flattened cells (endothelium). These are capillaries or small venules. A couple of aggregates of round, mostly purple (basophilic cells) are scattered about. Most of these cells have a round nucleus with a moderate amount of cytoplasm and sometimes a poorly stained crescent of cytoplasm adjacent to the nucleus. The poorly stained region is due to the large Golgi apparatus of plasma cells. The nuclei of the plasma cells is darkly basophilic with tiny poorly stained foci around the margin. The lightly stained areas are due to reduced amounts of chromatin. The pattern of this staining, to some individuals, has the appearance of a clock face, and it is another feature of plasma cells.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Happy New Year! Here is a sharp-dressed Steller's jay to help you start it off right. Sequim, Washington. #birds #naturephotography #wildlifephotography #wildlife

Steller's jay perched on a dead limb. The bird has a tall crest and a dark gray head and shoulders that fade into brilliant blue wings, body and tail

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Looking for that blue-bird of happiness? I found this one along the Little Red River in Arkansas a few years ago. From my archives. Eastern bluebird. February 2021. #birds #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #wildlife #happy

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Have you ever seen a more striking eye?! OK. There ARE some pretty crazy eye colors among birds. But you have to agree this drake cinnamon teal sports some pretty bold peepers. Yolo County, California. From back in Feb 2022 #birds #waterfowl #wildlife #wildlifephotography #Nikon

Drake cinnamon teal. This duck is swimming and quartering towards the camera. He has vivid red irises. He has a black bill and the top of the head is very dark, nearly black. The plumage of the head and neck are a deep russet color that fades to lighter shades towards the tail. The back has some barred feathers. A few cattails are in the background.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Slides from a 26-year-old gelding. Rail thin. Variably-sized often large (~12 cm in diameter) nodules were scattered throughout the lung. There was some initial concern that gross lesions looked like coccidioidomycosis. What's your diagnosis? #pathsky #vetpath #pathology #microbiology

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

I challenge anyone to find a cooler #histopathology slide! Intracytoplasmic viral inclusions, in ingested canine cells, in the gut of a #nematode in the bronchiole of a dog! Oslerus osleri and canine distemper #virus #pathsky #vetpath #veterinary #parasites #InfectiousDisease

The upper right corner of the image includes some thin-shelled nematode eggs containing larvae. The remainder of the slide shows the gastointestinal tract of a nematode (Oslerus osleri) which is filled with canine cells that the worm has ingested. Some of the leucocytes in the gut of the worm have prominent brightly eosinophilic (pink) intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies that are consistent with canine distemper virus.

A lower magnification view of one of the nematodes. The nematode has a thin body wall. The body cavity (pseudocoelom) contains transverse sections of uterus and intestine. The intestine contains numerous nucleated host cells that have been ingested. Most of the uterus is distended by thin-shelled eggs that contain larvae. One section of uterus contains a few less mature, non-larvated eggs.

A small airway of a dog that contains a transverse section of a single nematode. A cross section of the nematodes intestine has multiple vacuoles in the epithelial cells. A larger lumenal structure in the body of the nematode has numerous tall epithelial cells containing a single nucleus and a prominent brush border. I am unsure of the identity of the larger structure. Many if not most of the epithelial cells of the dog's airway have beautiful, sharply demarcated, brightly eosinophilic (pink) intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies consistent with canine distemper virus.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Indecisive color morph of a Sherman's fox squirrel. I've seen black ones, gray ones, black ones with an orange belly, but I've never seen another quite like this. Beautiful pattern. Liberty County, Georgia. #wildlife #mammals #squirrel #wildlifephotography #naturephotography

A large Sherman's fox squirrel sitting upright eating pine nuts. The cranial half of this squirrel is black. There is a sharp line that demarcates grey pellage on the caudal half of the squirrel.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Beautiful deadly things! Calcium oxalate crystals in the kidney of a flying squirrel after ethylene glycol consumption. We don't see it as much these days. In CA, antifreeze can now have no more than 10% ethylene glycol and it must have a bittering agent. #PathSky #VetPath #Kidney #toxicology

Two aggregates of calcium oxalate crystals in the kidney of a flying squirrel under polarized light. Both aggregates have a circular margin, because they fill renal tubules. The crystals are birefringent and under polarized light give off brightly colored hues, almost like an opal. The crystals on the lower right are arranged radially, a common pattern with calcium oxalate. The crystals in the upper left are more variably shaped.

$Multiple aggregates of calcium oxalate crystals in the kidney of a flying squirrel under polarized light. The crystals are birefringent and under polarized light give off brightly colored hues, almost like an opal. In this sections the aggregates are bit misshapen, possibly as an artifact of histology. The crystals are hard and sometimes fracture or get displaced when they are sectioned by the microtome blade.$

This is an hematoxylin and eosin-stained section of kidney under partially polarized light. This is the same section as in the previous image. Partial polarization allows enough light to pass through that the renal parenchyma is evident, but the birefringence of the calcium oxalate crystals is still evident. The renal tubules visible are mostly sectioned transversely. Some tubules containing crystals appear to lack epithelium, whereas others have cells with dark pyknotic nuclei that are compressed by the intralumenal crystals.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Fun case from Friday histopath rounds. Besnoitia bennetti-associated dermatitis in a 6-mo-old donkey. Majority of reports are in donkeys. Not sure why we aren’t seeing it more in horses. We aren't exactly up to our asses in donkeys. #vetpath #PathSky #pathology #protozoa #dermatopathology

This photo depicts a punch biopsy sample of haired skin with multiple large protozoal cysts in the superficial aspect of the dermis. The cysts have very think cell wall that is very lightly amphophilic. The contents of the cysts are light purple. The individual zoites in the cyst cannot be resolved at this magnification.

This is a high magnification photo of a Besnotia cyst. The cyst is slightly ovoid and it is 500 micrometers in diameter. It is surrounded by a thick wall of collagen that is lightly amphophilic.the cyst distends a host cell that has four nuclei. Only a thin margin of cytoplasm remains in the host cell. The cyst is distended by innumerable zoites. They are too small to be resolved at this magnification but they are banana shaped. A moderate number of lymphocytes surrounds the entire cyst.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

No one does a peroidic acid-Schiff stain (PAS) quite as pretty as the UGA veterinary histology lab. Beautiful stain of Aspergillus sp. in the lung of an ivory-billed gull. #fungi #mycoses #vetpath #pathsky #pneumonia

A PAS-stained section of lung. Fungal hyphae stain purple and invade the remnants of an airway. The light green counterstain contrasts nicely with the fungal hyphae invading the parenchyma.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Sarcocyst in skeletal muscle of a white-tailed #deer. Of >200 Sarcocystis spp known a few infect humans, usually asymptomatically. Freezing did a good job of killing those species studied. Most adult cervids have them, but usually they are microscopic. #PathSky #vetpath #veterinary #parasites

Large protozoal cyst (sarcocyst) in a skeletal muscle fiber (myofiber). The muscle cell is greatly enlarged to approximately 500 micrometers long and 250 micrometers wide. The capsule has a frilly margin. The zoites inside the sarcocysts stain purple with a hematoxylin & eosin stain.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Yerington, Nevada is getting some shakes today. We felt that bigger #earthquake all the way over here in Davis, CA. I thought it was a bit of vertigo from my cold until I saw the window shades moving. earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/...

Map showing recent earthquakes off the coast of Northern California, in Mendocino County and in Western Nevada.

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