Hepatic Haemosiderosis in birds at the zoological society of London

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Abstract
The livers of 531 captive wild birds necropsied at the Zoological Society of London were examined histologically. Significant accumulations of stainable iron pigment were found in the livers of 37 birds. Hepatic haemosi‐derosis was prevalent in some species in the orders Ciconiiformes, Cuculi‐formes, Coraciiformes and Passeriformes. Flamingos, go‐away birds, hornbills and starlings were most commonly affected. Hepatic haemosiderosis was not recorded in some orders such as the Psittaciformes, Sphenisciformes, Falconiformes or Strigiformes. Hepatic haemosiderosis usually occurred in birds that had been in captivity for many years. The macroscopic appearance of affected livers varied, some were swollen or enlarged and others either yellow, brown or golden in appearance. The degree to which stainable iron was present in hepatocytes, phagocytic cells in the liver, or both, varied from case to case. Stainable iron was both granular and diffuse in hepatocytes and granular in both Kupffer cells and aggregations of haemosiderin‐Iaden macrophages. Fibrosis was associated with haemosiderosis in one case only. Intercurrent diseases were common in affected birds and often considered to be the cause of death. Primary hepatic neo‐plasia was recorded in five of the 37 affected birds.