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The term jaundice describes a yellow discoloration of the skin. This can most easily be appreciated by looking at the whites of the eyes, and the mucous membranes (ie the third eyelids and gums).
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In addition to removing soluble waste products from the body, the kidneys help to regulate water balance and also produce erythropoietin, a hormone which controls red blood cell production in the bone marrow. With kidney disease erythropoietin production is often decreased which can result in chronic anaemia.
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Socialisation is the process by which the kitten learns about its own identity, the identity of its own species and the identity of the other species with which it will share its life. Appropriate socialisation enables the kitten to go on to develop relationships with other living beings in its environment.
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Icterus is the accumulation of yellow pigment in the blood and tissues. It is one of the most dramatic features of liver disease and is clinically recognised as jaundice.
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The liver is a vital, complex organ which performs a number of crucial functions, principally involved with metabolism and is sometimes termed the "factory of the body" which controls many of the chemical processes necessary for normal bodily function.
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Cancers of the liver cells are called hepatocellular adenomas and carcinomas.
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The liver has a massive blood supply so many cancer cells from elsewhere arrive within it and start to grow. In dogs metastatic tumours are three times as common as primary tumours and over 30% of malignant cancer is said to metastasize to the liver.
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Most lung cancers originate from the epithelium lining the airways. In dogs, most are from the alveoli where oxygen is taken up into the body but in people and in cats, most originate in the main airways (bronchi).
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Cancer of the cells of the lymph nodes (lymphoma, lymphosarcoma) has to be distinguished from other causes of lymph node swelling by histopathology. Some types of cancer are slower growing than others but all are potentially life-threatening.
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This is a tumour originating from cells of the mammary glands. Most tumours are potentially or already malignant so early surgical removal is important so there is no spread to other parts of the body (metastasis).
