(Continued from last week)
Vaginal tumours
Today and next week, we’ll address two types of tumours affecting the canine vagina, which are similar, yet distinct, relative to their origins/causes and the way they exhibit themselves. The first is called a vaginal hyperplasia (VH) and the other a transmissible canine venereal tumour (TCVT). Both of these are not strictly surface tumours, meaning that they don’t develop on the outside skin, but I don’t know where else better to discuss this topic. And, as we will see, the vagina is covered on the inside with a thin skin (mucous membrane), the cells of which greatly multiply creating an unsightly protrusion of the growths to the outside.
Vaginal hyperplasia (VH)
Hyperplasia is the term applied to abnormally great development of some tissues. In the case of VH, the proliferation of cells of the vaginal mucous membrane occurs on the floor (the lower part) of the vagina. It is very much linked to hormonal imbalance, and is seen before and during the bitch’s heat period.
The most common sign of VH is a mass of tissue protruding from the vulva (the skin surrounding the entrance to the