Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa in goats.

[dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa]

Clinical , histopathological and ultrastructural findings of caprine dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB ) with autosomal recessive inheritance are reported . The goats presented with exungulation , erosions , crusts and scars on the skin and ulcers in the oral cavity . Microscopically , the skin showed subepidermal separation with clefts filled occasionally with clear eosinophilic fluid , cellular debris or neutrophils . Ultrastructurally , the site of blister formation was the sublamina densa in the epidermal basement membrane zone . In skin with blister formation and in clinically uninvolved skin , the basal lamina was preserved , but the anchoring fibrils were sparse and rudimentary . A twin brother of an affected kid was mated over 5 years with his mother ; three out of the 10 kids born presented with epidermolysis bullosa , indicating that the disease has an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance . It is suggested that the disease is similar to human severe generalized recessive DEB .