Practical gross pathology of reptiles

While the goal of reptile medicine and surgery is to treat and cure our patients, it is inevitable that some patients will die, some will be euthanized, and others will be presented to the clinician having already died. This provides the opportunity for a postmortem examination. A postmortem should be completed on every case, whenever possible. Postmortems allow for definitive diagnosis in most cases as well as adding to the general base of knowledge regarding the diseases seen in our captive reptile populations. The tenets of a reptile necropsy are the same as for those of all species. A systematic approach that is repeated each time, attention to detail, and knowledge of the normal gross anatomy will aid clinicians in diagnosing and treating future patients while improving their own knowledge and skills. This chapter will provide the framework for practicing veterinarians to consistently perform a complete gross postmortem examination of lizards, chelonians, and snakes. A discussion of euthanasia and patient preparation as well as how to set up a simple but effective necropsy suite will also be covered. Normal anatomy of each group, including variations between the different groups, as well as some of the more common lesions seen will be described.