Tapeworm cyst?

[Woodsy]

Found this cyst or abscess in haunch just below skin while skinning a roe buck. It was visible as a white raised bump which felt soft and watery. I cut the flesh above it which freed it. I did not puncture it. Seemed full of fluid. All internal lymph nodes normal, deer otherwise in seemingly great shape, lungs, all organs perfect. Only thing I’ve ever seen similar is tapeworm cysts in rabbits, but I’ve never seen it in a deer before.

No sign on the skin of any damage in that area.

Anyone else seen similar?

Not being 100% sure what it was and not wanting to eat the deer myself the carcass was disposed of.

 

[wytonpjs]

Too big for a tapeworm cyst I believe and in the wrong place. Watching this one with interest

 

[Buchan]

MIght be, Cysticercus cervi, the definitive host being canines - Taenia cervi.

 

[csl]

I can't see it clearly on this iPad but has it got "mini boiled rice and water" as fluid or is the fluid pussy?

If it's the former it's tapeworm.

 

[Woodsy]

I can't see it clearly on this iPad but has it got "mini boiled rice and water" as fluid or is the fluid pussy?

If it's the former it's tapeworm.

I didn’t cut it open, no ‘boiled rice’ visible from outside. With rabbits I’ve only actually seen the ‘boiled rice’ (presumably eggs) if I’ve cut the cyst open by accident. It felt very liquid when squeezed, not thick, just soft and fluid. Like water in a balloon.

 

[Woodsy]

MIght be, Cysticercus cervi, the definitive host being canines - Taenia cervi.

That was my guess. Thanks for clarifying. I’ve never seen it in a deer before. Could have used the carcass then, having cut out the cyst. That’s a shame, but at least I know now in case I see it again.

 

[Dodder]

Too big for a tapeworm cyst I believe and in the wrong place. Watching this one with interest

Whilst no expert I would agree it looks far too big - also dont think a tapeworn cyst would be situated just below the skin? Interested to find out the outcome of this....

 

[Spix]

Too big for a tapeworm cyst I believe and in the wrong place. Watching this one with interest

I've taken a tapeworm cyst same size as a golf ball out of a rabbit so I'd think again about that. No idea what it might be in a deer otherwise.

 

[Woodsy]

Whilst no expert I would agree it looks far too big - also dont think a tapeworn cyst would be situated just below the skin? Interested to find out the outcome of this....

Same as Spix has said - I’ve seen several golf ball sized tapeworm cysts in rabbits, just below the skin. As soon as I saw this on the deer that’s what I thought of. But having never seen one on a deer before I doubted myself. I wish I’d cut it open now, but when I did that once with a rabbit I got a face full of liquid and the eggs went all over the place. Put me off eating rabbit for quite a while!

 

[British Shooting Services]

MIght be, Cysticercus cervi, the definitive host being canines - Taenia cervi.

Buchan,
Question for you, if it was a tapeworm cyst, are the scolex able to migrate back to the intestines to mature and produce eggs, or can the scolex only move to the next developmental stage if accidentally ingested by humans or scavengers??

I have seen similar growths on the haunches of young Roe bucks before, where the cyst contains a foreign body that has been forced subdermal / intramuscular, presumably, by older bucks pushing them out of territories??

What do you think??

 

[Dodder]

I did a degree project on the intestinal helminth parasites of rabbits 37yrs ago. I found tapeworm cysts in only about 3 rabbits out of 20. All were found on the mesentaries of the small intestine or attached to the large intestine where it passed through the back legs near the backside. My understanding is that these are the commonest places to find them. The cysts contain a larvael form of the tapeworm which when eaten by the end host then evaginate and attach themselves with a row of razor sharp hooks into the wall of the hosts intestine. The cysts are an immature larvael form so there shouldnt be any eggs....

 

[Woodsy]

I did a degree project on the intestinal helminth parasites of rabbits 37yrs ago. I found tapeworm cysts in only about 3 rabbits out of 20. All were found on the mesentaries of the small intestine or attached to the large intestine where it passed through the back legs near the backside. My understanding is that these are the commonest places to find them. The cysts contain a larvael form of the tapeworm which when eaten by the end host then evaginate and attach themselves with a row of razor sharp hooks into the wall of the hosts intestine. The cysts are an immature larvael form so there shouldnt be any eggs....

Interesting. I’ve found quite a few of these cysts in rabbits, under the skin. One burst when accidentally cut. It had lots of what looked like small grains of rice. I had assumed these were eggs. Perhaps not? Anyone shed any light on this?

 

[shakey jake]

i generally find cysts in areas of high rabbit numbers, back legs, shoulders and loins are all common, ive always bined the rabbits

 

[British Shooting Services]

Tape worm cyst on rabbit liver

 

[Spix]

i generally find cysts in areas of high rabbit numbers

This is very true and noticeable in enclosed populations - airfields, old industrial or MOD

 

[Woodsy]

From a quick read online I’ve discovered that the white ‘boiled rice’ things inside the tapeworm cysts are not eggs after all, but the heads of tapeworms in their larvae form. This ties in with what Dodder says in his post above.

The rabbits I’ve found with these cysts have been from areas with fairly high densities of rabbits.

 

[Dunwaters]

Go handy guys,
Trying to eat a piece of rare steak here.

 

[TomT3]

I did a degree project on the intestinal helminth parasites of rabbits 37yrs ago. I found tapeworm cysts in only about 3 rabbits out of 20. All were found on the mesentaries of the small intestine or attached to the large intestine where it passed through the back legs near the backside. My understanding is that these are the commonest places to find them. The cysts contain a larvael form of the tapeworm which when eaten by the end host then evaginate and attach themselves with a row of razor sharp hooks into the wall of the hosts intestine. The cysts are an immature larvael form so there shouldnt be any eggs....

As above I think the ‘floating rice’ is actually immature worms and not eggs.

 

[Woodsy]

Go handy guys,
Trying to eat a piece of rare steak here.

Served on a bed of boiled rice?

 

[Dunwaters]

Served on a bed of boiled rice?

No, crinkle cut chips mushrooms and fried onions, nice piece of Angus ribeye.