DERMATITIS ULCERATIVA EN RATONES BALB/c Cmedc: REPORTE DE 3 CASOS

Ulcerative dermatitis (UD) is a common and spontaneous condition in mice. The disease is characterized by a pruritic skin lesion, pain and a progressive evolution that often results in ulcerations. Sex, environmental conditions, dietary variation, chronic inflammation, barbering and follicular dystrophy are some predisposing factors for the clinical disease development. The aim of this study was report 3 cases of UD in BALBc/Cmedc mice from Center for Comparative Medicine, gross and histopathological lesions were described, and a review about relevance of UD in laboratory mice was made. These cases were characterized by dermatitis, ulcerative and proliferative, chronic, moderate, with neutrophils, hemorrhage and a serocellular crust. Although initial lesions may be mild, lesions in UD typically are unresponsive to treatment and euthanasia is often warranted in severe cases. This is the reason why UD is an important clinical issue that often affects biomedical research by causing problems in mice health and premature removal of animal from laboratory studies.