Radiographic appearance of a caudal vertebral chordoma in a domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo)

Abstract

A 7-year-old spayed female ferret was presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine for a slow-growing mass involving the base of the tail. Radiographs revealed a large, irregularly marginated mineralized mass centered on the fifth to seventh caudal vertebrae with osteolysis of the affected caudal vertebrae. A partial caudectomy was performed, and histopathology was consistent with a chordoma. This is the first case report describing the radiographic appearance of a chordoma in the proximal tail and only the second report to describe radiographic findings in a ferret.