A three-day-old foal died from intestinal strangulation due to a remnant of vitelline vein which extended between the umbilicus and the portal vein. The strangulating vein was identified on the basis of its morphological and histological structure. This finding, which is the first reported case of a persistent vitelline vein in a horse, is discussed in relation to the normal development and involution of the vitelline circulation.
Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Poultry Diseases, Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology, University of Ghent, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Merelbeke, Belgium.
