Client Education Sheet Available on Website • Unlike in cats and dogs, pain, lethargy, and pyrexia are rarely associated with abscesses in the rabbit. • Rabbits may present in apparent good health, particularly those with subcutaneous abscessation that may present as a slow-growing hard lump or soft swelling. These abscesses can be single or multiple. • Internal or pulmonary abscesses may result in lethargy and inappetence or organ-specific disease. • Dental abscesses may present with inappetence and drooling. • Retrobulbar abscessation may present with exophthalmos and may be associated with dental disease. • Occasionally, abscesses may burst and extrude caseous and/or odorous material. • Subcutaneous abscesses can present as a firm or soft, slow-growing mass anywhere on the body. They can be single or multiple. Skin necrosis may be seen over the abscess. • Facial abscesses are often the result of dental disease; an underlying bony mass can sometimes be palpated on the mandible or skull. • Retrobulbar abscesses are often the result of a dental disease–associated abscessation in the maxillary premolars or molars. • An internal abscess (hepatic, pulmonary, uterine [see Uterine Disorders]) can present as ill thrift, lethargy, respiratory distress, or gastrointestinal stasis. • Rabbit neutrophils possess little lysozyme activity. Lysozymes break down bacterial cell walls and liquefy necrotic tissue. With reduced lysozyme activity, rabbit pus remains caseated and does not drain well. The abscess often becomes encased in a fibrous capsule that minimizes antibiotic penetration. • Bacterial content of rabbit abscesses is often a mixed infection, including both aerobic and anaerobic species (e.g., Pasteurella multocida [see Pasteurellosis], Staphylococcus aureus [see Staphylococcosis], Pseudomonas spp., Bacteroides spp., Proteus spp., and Fusobacterium necrophorum).
Abscesses
Basic Information
Clinical Presentation
History, Chief Complaint
Physical Exam Findings
Etiology and Pathophysiology
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