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| ==Overview== | | ==Overview== |
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| A mast cell originates from the [[bone marrow]] and is normally found throughout the [[connective tissue]] of the body. It is a normal component of the [[immune system]] and as it releases [[histamine]] it is associated with [[allergy|allergic reaction]]s. Mast cells also respond to tissue [[physical trauma|trauma]]. Mast cell [[granule]]s contain histamine, [[heparin]], [[platelet-activating factor]], and other substances. Disseminated [[mastocytosis]] is rarely seen in young dogs and cats, while mast cell tumors are a common [[malignant]] tumor of the skin in older dogs and cats. Up to 20 to 25 percent of skin tumors in dogs are mast cell tumors,<ref name=saph>{{cite journal |author=Brière C |title=Use of a reverse saphenous skin flap for the excision of a grade II mast cell tumor on the hind limb of a dog |journal=Can Vet J |volume=43 |issue=8 |pages=620-2 |year=2002 |id=PMID 12170840}}</ref> with a similar number in cats.<ref name=pathol>{{cite journal |author=Johnson T, Schulman F, Lipscomb T, Yantis L |title=Histopathology and biologic behavior of pleomorphic cutaneous mast cell tumors in fifteen cats |journal=Vet Pathol |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=452-7 |year=2002 |id=PMID 12126148}}</ref>
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| ==References== | | ==References== |