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The entire carcass may be very icteric
and/or pale. Blood tends to be very thin and plasma might be red-tinged. Subcutaneous or pulmonary edema might also be seen. |
| Liver can be very pale due to the anemia or yellow and enlarged due to the icterus (photo). |  |
| Spleen is enlarged and soft because of all the recycling of red blood cells. |  |
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Urinary bladder is distended and full of dark urine. The dark color is due to the excess hemoglobin running through the kidneys and the distention is a reflection of the animal not standing to urinate. |
| The kidneys are dark red in color because of the excess of hemoglobin casts within the tubules and congestion. |  |
| Often there are dramatic findings in the brain. Because of the sludging of red cells in the cerebral and cerebellar capillaries, the entire brain may take on a distinct pink hue: | |
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| The Babesia organisms express a molecule on the surface of the red blood cell that causes the red blood cell to adhere to the host microvasculature. In the brain, this results in sludging of blood, the nervous signs noted, and the overal pink color. | |