Histological Lesions and Cellular Response in the Skin of Alpine Chamois (Rupicapra r. rupicapra) Spontaneously Affected by Sarcoptic Mange

Table 1

Scoring system used for classification of sarcoptic mange skin lesions determined by histologic assessment of skin sections from affected chamois.

Feature	Measure	Attributed scores
		Absent (0)	Mild (1)	Moderate (2)	Severe (3)
Crusts	Thickness	No crust	<2.5	2.5–3.5	>3.5
Alopecia	Percent of hair follicles containing hairs in histologic section	Normal hair	>55	45–55	<45
Mites	Average counts at 10x HPF	0	1-2	3–6	>6
Eosinophils	Average counts at 40x HPF	0-1	2–10	11–20	>20
Lymphocytes	Average counts at 40x HPF	0	1–15	16–50	>50
Mast cells	Average counts at 40x HPF	0	1–15	16–40	>40

Thickness (mm) determined in eight randomly selected microscopic cross sections of skin. Counts of mites in eight randomly selected fields. Cell number in eight randomly selected fields. HPF: high-powered field.