Elevated Testosterone and Progestin Concentrations in a Spayed Female Rabbit with an Adrenal Cortical Adenoma

Abstract EN

This case was described briefly in a recent book chapter (Lennox AM, Fecteau KA: 2014, Endocrine disease.

In: BSAVA Manual of Rabbit Medicine, eds.

Meredith A, Lord B, pp 274–276.

British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Gloucester, UK).

In the previous description, the tumor was described as a pheochromocytoma; however, further evaluation suggested that it more closely resembled an adrenal cortical adenoma.

A 10-year-old, spayed female rabbit was presented for a behavior change of 8 months’ duration.

The rabbit was inappropriately urinating and defecating, as well as demonstrating aggressive behaviors such as chasing, biting, and mounting various objects.

The rabbit had elevated progesterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, and testosterone concentrations, and ultrasound examination of the abdomen showed a round, homogenous nodule measuring 1.1 × 0.8 × 0.9 cm in the region of the left adrenal gland.

Necropsy revealed a unilateral adrenal cortical adenoma.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first complete description of a female rabbit with an adrenal cortical adenoma documented in the literature.