Zollinger-Ellison syndrome in three dogs.

The main clinical signs of three dogs with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome were vomiting, diarrhoea, poor appetite and weight loss. The diagnosis was confirmed by histological examination and by gastrin immunocytochemistry. Gastrin was extracted from pancreatic tumours of two dogs. Gastrin-component III predominated in one dog while gastrin-component II and gastrin-component III were demonstrated in almost equal amounts in the other dog. In one dog serum gastrin concentration was high. Postmortem examination revealed pancreatic tumours in all three dogs and metastases in the regional lymph nodes and liver in two. The pancreatic tumours contained three patterns of growth: solid, trabecular and acinar. Electron microscopy of liver metastases showed cells with secretory granules. In all three dogs there was an erosive oesophagitis and thick gastric mucosa caused mainly by glandular proliferation. Two dogs had erosions and ulcers in the duodenum, one also in the first part of the jejunum. Villous atrophy and cellular infiltration of the duodenal mucosa were found in all dogs.