Roe portal node

fallowfellow

Well-Known Member
Dear all,

I wonder see if anyone may be able to confirm or reject my suspicion about a portal node from a roe doe please?

She was shot the other day. Behaviour was perfectly normal. Alert, wary as a downwind deer had scented me and barked. Dropped to a neck shot as facing me.

18kg dressed, skin on. Lovely looking beast. One of nicest I’ve seen. Also shot the juvenile with her. She was still lactating. Lots of fat.

Gralloch all seemed fine. No swollen node in mesentery. Pulmonary, retropharyngeal and submandibular all normal in appearance. Chest cavity clean.

Left liver attached to diaphragm to ease extraction. On further inspection at home, there was one portal node that struck me as out of the ordinary. It was firm, round and size of a small marble, approx 1.5cm diameter. I incised this, a green/brown liquid came out. Rest of liver appeared fine. No obvious fluke.

The deer where I shoot are generally in good health. I think I have see. One before with fluke. I have seen fluke in plenty of fallow I shot in different ground many miles away but never opened a portal node as the diagnosis was obvious from the liver.

DSC manual, deer initiative pdfs, pocket handbook all have no info or pictures of this. Downloaded Wilson’s meat inspection and have spent the evening scanning the disease section. Interesting reading. One possibility, mentioning migrating fluke, it says green caseous nodes can be found in the mesenteric chain. Presumably the liver is upstream and can be similarly affected.

So, common things being common ( and TB being almost umivwrsally described as creamy/yellow). I’m thinking this is fluke
Related, perhaps an early infestation.

Any information appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Also, are there any comprehensive texts on deer disease that I could get for bedtime reading?!?

Pictures below.
 

Attachments

  • 3F2197F9-9998-46FA-8B85-8A5893ACC9E3.webp
    3F2197F9-9998-46FA-8B85-8A5893ACC9E3.webp
    255.1 KB · Views: 209
  • A441C130-952F-46F5-A752-58ADAE8641EB.webp
    A441C130-952F-46F5-A752-58ADAE8641EB.webp
    300.4 KB · Views: 212
  • 47C4323F-3B7D-42D0-8A3F-15C6F4F23D0A.webp
    47C4323F-3B7D-42D0-8A3F-15C6F4F23D0A.webp
    244.2 KB · Views: 212
  • BDE044E8-5288-4276-9824-EAD29CB33B7C.webp
    BDE044E8-5288-4276-9824-EAD29CB33B7C.webp
    731.7 KB · Views: 201
  • 86E7BF50-6597-463D-A0D9-989BDA99353B.webp
    86E7BF50-6597-463D-A0D9-989BDA99353B.webp
    767.1 KB · Views: 182
Odd. The cut appearance is not unlike nodules that can form with immature fluke migrating through the liver. While I've not seen this before, it is possible that an immature fluke might have migrated along a hepatic lymphatic vessel and ended up in the lymph node, where it kept eating the tissue and causing bleeding. The breakdown of the blood creates the green /brown colour. So Id say it was fluke and it;s all good to eat - bar the node!
Interesting book, thanks
 
With all the other nodes being fine I wouldn't have any concern about it. It could be fluke at an early stage but it's hard to say and I suspect that you will never know!
 
Thanks for the reply Dexter! Yes, I suspect that’s the ultimate conclusion. I binned the liver but am planning to butcher the rest of
the carcass and fill the freezer.
 
Hi Buchan,

Thanks for the helpful reply and sorry I didn’t see it earlier!

It’s a good book alright. It was recommended on here, I can’t recall by whom unfortunately. I think the other one on meat inspection they mentioned was Hamilton’s. Studying to be a vet must be something else!

Luckily I had another liver in the freezer so still had the planned dinner tonight.

Thanks for the advice!
 

Attachments

  • 1045B0F8-FFFE-47CE-8357-FB4803B8E0F4.webp
    1045B0F8-FFFE-47CE-8357-FB4803B8E0F4.webp
    141.7 KB · Views: 55
Back
Top