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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Reposted by Kevin Keel

Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

A Super Ager, Fauja Singh, ran his 1st marathon at age 89, and 8 more after that through age 101. How does he die at age 114 years? Hit by a car. apnews.com/article/olde...

Fauja Singh, world's oldest matrathon runner

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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 · 02/07/2025

I wish it were that easy to stop my sneezing.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

It reminded me of the $6.2 million banana with duct tape.

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

It's good to see these coming back. There has been a huge difference in the population since I returned to California 13 years ago.

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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 · 31/03/2025

Very cool. I saw my first fisher this past weekend. But, it was on the necropsy table. Most people have a life list...

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

This seems a bit obvious, but it's a very cool illustration of the idea. I tried to figure out where it was first published, but all I found were many social media posts with the image. Guilty!

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Reposted by Kevin Keel

Jay 🦋 @jay.bsky.team · 31/03/2025

The future is a web of branching paths, and each choice opens up new possibilities as it closes others. This is as true for a civilization as it is for an individual. The more our collective intelligence can inform each choice, the better our chances of finding paths through to a beautiful future.

graphic of branching lifelines, with the path taken traced through it. past paths no longer in play are greyed out, possible future paths spread out like a network of roots in front

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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

If only we had a vaccine for ignorance. But, wait! We do!! Or, at least we did. Unfortunately, critical thinking and education, it would seem, are passé. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

nbcnews.com

How the anti-vaccine movement weaponized a 6-year-old's measles death

Anti-vaccine influencers see the child’s death as proof — not of the danger of measles, but of their own debunked theories.

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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

Kidneys are an amazing organ! And the lesions always make sense to me. I can wrap my head around renal lesions in a way that I never could quite master with repro pathology.

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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 · 19/03/2025

Essential thrombocythemia I presume. I had to refresh my memory on this. Schalm's has a nice section on it, but all the acronyms drive me a bit nuts in that book. I get frustrated when I have to go back to the beginning to constantly remind myself what they mean by PV, CMPV, CALR, IDA, ET, etc!

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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 · 14/03/2025

I should have mentioned that RFK is the other well known cat who had a tapeworm larvae in his brain. This cat will survive. Luckily, he's not likely to seek a career in politics. That was a pretty big hole in his brain! #VetPath #Histopathology #Parasites bsky.app/profile/ucpa...

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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

Good to know. I was hoping they might be small enough to not cause harm. I wasn't aware they are so well sealed in an airpod. It has been an issue with our dogs. They think they are candy. Probably because they've been in our ears for so long! 😬

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

I couldn't decide if it was an airpod or a hearing aid. I had a discussion about dogs eating airpods just yesterday. Is the battery large enough to do them serious harm?

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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

Here is the article... Constantine, D.G., 2014. Sound and Fury: Non-Biological Sound for the Selective Capture of Rabies-Infected Bats. In A WDA Report from the Field. Wildlife Disease Association.

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

Yes!!! That was an awesome study that was done in California. WDA published the work posthumously but it was only available on the "Members Only" site. Made me very sad to have it put in front of such a small audience.

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

I used to work at the Arizona diagnostic lab. The bobcats with skunk rabies would chase you down to get a piece of you! I don’t have many bobcats with raccoon rabies. This might be my only one. But I’m fascinated by the varying outcome with diff host strain pairings. It is under studied.

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

Oops! I forgot to credit the image per the rules. It's mine. It is a slide from my teaching collection. It was a case of a rabid bobcat that I had some years ago. The bobcat curled up on someone's porch and would not move. No aggression. Just laid there.

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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 · 30/01/2025

It's a couple of years old but this is a great review of #rabies #virus #pathogenesis and #immune evasion. A student's question on antibody response prompted me to dig a little deeper in the literature. Who doesn't appreciate a good review article? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Neuroimmunology of rabies: New insights into an ancient disease

Rabies is an ancient neuroinvasive viral (genus Lyssavirus, family Rhabdoviridae) disease affecting approximately 59,000 people worldwide. The central nervous system (CNS) is targeted, and rabies has...

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Reposted by Kevin Keel

Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) @avmajavma.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

It's "What Is Your Diagnosis?" Wednesday! What are your differential diagnoses for a flock of 20,000 Bovans Brown laying hens that experienced a 2-week period of increasing mortality starting at 54 weeks of age? Full case: doi.org/10.2460/javm...

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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 · 27/01/2025

I just quit using Congo red. It often doesn't work in our shop. Or any of the others I've worked in. But thioflavin-T is very consistent.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

We are work adjacent at least! I work with her husband more than Danika. But I have known her for over 30 years. We were residents at the same time. Me in pathology. She in.... You know I can't remember. Maybe internal medicine. I don't think we had a genetics residency back then. Cool dogs.

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Kevin Keel @ucpath.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

I wish they all turn out like this! I have found that thin sections generally scan better, but I am pretty sure the histo techs would revolt if I asked for thin sections of bone.

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

I presume some newspaper editor who thought it would sell more papers than CWD.

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

No kidding! I couldn't get past the headline.

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

Like I said. It's a classic!! You never forget the ones that were on your board exam, do you?

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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 · 24/01/2025

FFS! Do NOT start calling this "Zombie Deer Disease"!! It is chronic-wasting disease (CWD). It's bad enough without giving screwball false impressions to the public. #deer #CWD #Veterinary #prion #SciComm www.11alive.com/article/life...

11alive.com

Georgia reports first case of 'zombie deer disease' | What to know

The fatal neurological disease was detected in a 2.5-year-old white-tailed deer in Lanier County.

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

It is impressive to see how far the genetic information has come.

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

The resources you have in human medicine are humbling. Half the time I feel like I'm still trying to just match wallpaper with tumor submissions from veterinarians.

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

Damnit! I was already depressed. This doesn't help. I guess I'll have to give up drinking again tomorrow.

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