Tumours of reptiles 4. Multiple osteomas in the lizard Laceria viridis

Whereas in fishes several osteomas (Bell, 1793; Gervais, 1875; Bland-Sutton, 1885 ; Plehn, 1906 ; Schroeders, 1908 ; Fiebiger, 1909 ; Williamson, 1913 ; Beatti, 1916 ; Kazama, 1924 ; Sagawa, 1925; Williams, 1929; Takahashi, 1929; Thomas, 1932, 1933; Lucké and Schlumberger, not published, see the publication of Schlumberger and Lucké, 1948) and some osteosarcomas (Wahlgren, 1873 ; Murray, 1909 ; Williams, 1929 ; Thomas, 1932) have been described, in amphibians only one case of a doubtful osteogenic sarcoma (Ohlmacher, 1898) has been found and in reptiles one case of an osteoma (Moodie, 1923). Therefore, the multiple osteomas, which we were in a position to study in an adult female of the lizard Lacerta viridis, is probably the first case of this tumour found in a reptile. The tumour nodules presented themselves as rather regular nodules, varying in size, which were present in the tail and arose from the caudal vertebrae (figs. 1 and 2).