Abstract: To elucidate the cause of prenatal and early postnatal death in giant panda,pathological studies have been carried out on paraffin-fixed tissue sections from two fetuses and four cubs. The fetuses appeared to have classical atrophic changes in lung and hemorrhage in multiple organs,whereas the cubs showed purulent inflammation in various organs,most profound in lung and umbilicus.Localized infusion of bacteria and neutrophils were identified in the focus. Acute enteritis and hepatitis were also observed, as well as purulent encephalitis in one ease. Variable degrees of congestion, hemorrhage, denaturalization and putrescence were evident in heart, liver, spleen, kidney, intestines, and lymph nodes. The results indicated that the fetuses died from suffocation whereas the cubs died from infection.

Key words: Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), Atrophic in lung, Suppurative inflammation

关键词: 大熊猫, 肺萎陷, 化脓性炎