necropsy_caprice

Interpretation of necropsy results:

The most notable necropsy findings relating to cause of death were a tumor of the soft tissue of the mouth (squamous cell carcinoma) that was also invading the bone of the jaw, and resultant spread of that cancer to the lungs (metastasis.)   The tumor in the lungs is an undifferentiated carcinoma, so it is not identified as the same type of cell origin as the growth in the mouth, but is most likely spread from there as there was no other primary tumor identified on necropsy examination. The lungs appeared to be uniformly affected by the cancer, with little normal or functional tissue left.  There is a notation in the report that the chest cavity did not collapse, which means that the lungs had lost their pliability because of the amount of abnormal tissue present.  There is evidence of congestion of the liver that is consistent with what would be expected as a secondary effect from the amount of compromise that is present in the lung tissue.

The right thyroid gland appeared smaller than normal.  There was also some ectopic (displaced or malpositioned tissue, often congenital) thyroid tissue on the surface of the heart, which may have been functional.  There is no evidence or history of hypothyroidism included in the report.  The pancreas reflects changes indicative of Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) but there is no history of GI problems included.  Most likely Caprice required supplementation of pancreatic enzymes, as there was severe underdevelopment of the exocrine pancreatic cells noted.  The changes in the kidney of mild interstitial nephritis and tubular necrosis are consistent with the age of the patient, and do not indicate any likely pathology. 

There was no evidence of disease of the endocrine system, cardiovascular system, immune system, skin, neurological system, skeletal system or eyes.