Table 1. Deer tissues tested for the CWD agent by animal bioassay or immunohistochemical studiesa.
| Tissues positive for CWD agent |
| Brain |
| Pituitary gland |
| Spinal cord |
| Eyes (optic nerve, ganglion cells, retina) |
| Tonsils |
| Lymphoid tissues (e.g., gut-associated, retropharyngeal, posterior nasal septum) |
| Spleen |
| Pancreas |
| Peripheral nerves (e.g., brachial plexus, sciatic nerve, vagosympathetic trunk) |
| Tissues negative for CWD agent |
| Dorsal root ganglia |
| Parotid and mandibular salivary glands, tongue, esophagus, small intestine, colon |
| Thymus |
| Liver |
| Kidneys, urinary bladder, ovary, uterus, testis, epididymis, placentomes |
| Myocardium, Purkinje fibers, arteries, veins |
| Trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, aleveolar parenchyma |
| Bone marrow |
| Thyroid gland, adrenal gland |
| Skeletal muscle |
| Skin |
aCWD, chronic wasting disease.