Dissecting Aortic Aneurysm in Hamsters Treated with Cortisone Acetate

Summary Massive thoracic or abdominal hemorrhage has been found in 51 of 77 hamsters treated for 26 to 162 days with cortisone acetate. All of these animals bore implants of human fetal tissue. Histological sections of 26 of these animals demonstrated dissecting aortic aneurysm in 23 and necrotizing arteritis in 3 animals. The aorta of the other 25 animals with gross hemorrhage was not examined histologically. Six non-transplant-bearing hamsters treated with cortisone died with microscopically proved dissecting aortic aneurysm.