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Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation : Official Publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc logoLink to Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation : Official Publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc
. 2024 Sep 30:10406387241287515. Online ahead of print. doi: 10.1177/10406387241287515

Response to the letter to the editor: Coelomitis?

Daniela Denk
PMCID: PMC11559847  PMID: 39348009

Dear Editor-in-chief,

I appreciate Dr. Wes Baumgartner’s thoughtful critique on the use of the term coelomitis and his detailed analysis 1 in the July 2024 issue of JVDI. However, I would like to present an alternative perspective on this matter.

Dr. Baumgartner raises a valid point regarding the traditional use of terms such as peritonitis and pleuritis, which refer to inflammation of the lining of specific body cavities in mammals. However, it is essential to consider the anatomical differences in species that lack a diaphragm, such as many birds, reptiles, and amphibians. In these species, the coelom refers to the primary body cavity that is not subdivided by a diaphragm into thoracic and abdominal cavities, as it is in mammals. Therefore, the term coelomitis specifically refers to inflammation of the lining of this undivided coelomic cavity. Just as peritonitis and pleuritis accurately describe inflammation of the peritoneal and pleural linings, respectively, coelomitis serves a similar function by denoting inflammation of the celomic lining. Additionally, the term coelomitis avoids redundancy and respects the unique anatomical structures of non-mammalian species, where mammalian-specific terms might lead to ambiguity or misinterpretation.

Although serocoelomitis 10 might be technically more accurate, as it specifies inflammation of the serosal (lining) surfaces within the coelom, coelomitis has been the accepted term in veterinary pathology for simplicity and has been used historically for many years, making it familiar to clinicians and pathologists and providing consistency in diagnosis and communication. In the context of veterinary pathology, the term is understood to mean inflammation of the serosal linings without needing the more specific term. This is supported by the recognition and use of coelomitis by experts in reference texts in the zoo and wildlife pathology field since ~2000, including the seminal textbook Pathology of Zoo and Wildlife Species, 11 many other well-established reference books,2–4,7–12 and peer-reviewed papers in highly regarded veterinary journals.5,6,13 This acknowledgment in authoritative texts underscores its relevance and acceptance in describing celomic cavity inflammation in certain species.

I would therefore urge you to reconsider your views on this terminology and, instead, aid the correct usage across current literature, for example by arguing against the use of peritonitis in birds and other species without a diaphragm given that, by definition, they do not have a peritoneum as found in mammals.

Thank you for considering this perspective. I look forward to further discussion on this topic.

Sincerely,

Daniela Denk Inline graphic
SeaWorld Yas Island Abu Dhabi, Al Maha St, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emiratesdanieladenk@outlook.com

Footnotes

References

  • 1. Baumgartner W. Coelomitis? J Vet Diagn Invest 2024;36:489. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2. Campbell TW, Grant KR. Clinical Cases in Avian and Exotic Animal Hematology and Cytology. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010:70ff. [Google Scholar]
  • 3. Chitty J, Raftery A. Essentials of Tortoise and Turtle Medicine and Surgery. Wiley-Blackwell, 2013:134ff. [Google Scholar]
  • 4. Divers SJ, Stahl SJ, eds. Mader’s Reptile and Amphibian Medicine and Surgery. 3rd ed. Elsevier, 2019:227ff. [Google Scholar]
  • 5. Donovan TA, et al. Disseminated coelomic xanthogranulomatosisin eclectus parrots (Eclectus roratus) and budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus). Vet Pathol 2022;59:143–151. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 6. Gardner BR, Barrows MG. Yolk coelomitis in a white-throated monitor lizard (Varanus albigularis). J S Afr Vet Assoc 2010;81:121–122. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 7. Jacobson ER, ed. Infectious Diseases and Pathology of Reptiles: Color Atlas and Text. 1st ed. CRC Press, 2007:94ff. [Google Scholar]
  • 8. Meredith A, Redrobe S, eds. BSAVA Manual of Exotic Pets. 4th ed. 2002:236. [Google Scholar]
  • 9. Miller RE, Fowler ME, eds. Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine: Current Therapy. Vol. 7. Elsevier, 2012:228ff. [Google Scholar]
  • 10. Rosenthal KL, et al. Rapid Review of Exotic Animal Medicine and Husbandry: Pet Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish. 1st ed. Manson, 2008:180ff. [Google Scholar]
  • 11. Terio KA, et al., eds. Pathology of Zoo and Wildlife Species. 1st ed. Saunders, 2018:101ff. [Google Scholar]
  • 12. Wright KM, Whitaker BR, eds. Amphibian Medicine and Captive Husbandry. Krieger, 2001:212ff. [Google Scholar]
  • 13. Yang S, et al. Septicemia caused by an emerging pathogen, Elizabethkingia miricola, in a laboratory colony of African dwarf frogs (Hymenochirus curtipes). Vet Pathol 2023;60:394–401. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
J Vet Diagn Invest. 10406387241287515.
Grant Maxie

Editor’s reply

My thanks to Dr. Denk for her further thoughts on the use of the term celomitis. To maintain consistency in the literature and respecting the use by recognized experts in the field, I will allow the use of celomitis, although I still disagree with defining inflammation of a cavity rather than of an anatomic structure. Similarly, however, we do use other terms in a less-than anatomically correct sense (e.g., lymphaden- in lymphadenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, lymphadenitis, although lymph nodes are nodes, not glands [i.e., adeno-]; lymphoma, rather than malignant lymphoma or lymphosarcoma, for consistency with human literature, and given that there are no non-malignant lymphomas and malignant is unstated; and my personal favorite in the human medical literature: “benign prostatic hyperplasia” [isn’t hyperplasia, by definition, benign?]).

I’ve been beating the drum for the correct use of terminology for decades 1 and will continue to do so. I will of course continue to use American spellings in JVDI (celomitis, not coelomitis), use plain language, personalize science, and adhere to the KISS principle (keep it super simple). I routinely simplify text and remove double vowels (ae, oe, ou), hence anemia, celom, edema, tumor; remove excess syllables (euthanize, not euthanatize; vacuolation, not vacuolization; dilation, not dilatation); and redundant words (the most overused and misused modifier in pathology being multifocal as a modifier of foci, or as a modifier of any plural noun that is inherently multi and focal, including abscesses, adhesions, aggregates, ecchymoses, granulomas, masses, nodules, and petechiae).

Readers’ comments are always welcome.

Grant Maxie
Editor-in-chief, JVDI

Reference

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