Avian Flashcards
What makes a bird, a bird?
Feathers
T/F: Feathers are located all over the body.
False
They are organized nicely spaced out into tracts.
They are arranged in patterns called Pterylae (feathered area) & Apteria (not featherded)
What is the clinical significance of knowing how feathers are organized?
You can spread the feathers inorder to visualize a vein and take a blood sample.
How should you spread feathers in order to visualize the skin and avoid excessive bruising?
Spread the feather side to side, left & right, laterally along the long axis of the body.
Which ever makes the most sense. Basically not up and down or diagonally.
Complete the sentence:
Preening is when a bird uses its beak to “zip” ________ together.
Barbules
Why is it important to assess if a bird is preening durring your PE?
It is one of the first things to stop when they feel like shit.
T/F: You should trim away the blood feather so flight feather may grow in thier place.
FALSE
DONT DO THAT. Its super painful and will bleed a lot
What is a stress bar?
A line across a bird’s feather that indicates a very stressful event happened in the past.
T/F: Secondary flight feathers are attached to the body.
False
Tertiary flight feathers are attached to the body.
Secondary flight feathers are in the middle of the wing.
How do you tell if a bird is missing feathers from molting or from damage?
Examine the wing
T/F: The Ulna is larger than the Radius in birds.
True
T/F: Bird bones are strong, but brittle
True
T/F: The majority of the muscle mass of a bird is concentrated in the wing
False
It is mainly concentrated in the core, and decreases as you move away from the core
Why are birds able to rotate thier heads 180°?
They have a single occipital condyle
What is another name for the thoracic vertebrae of the bird?
Notarium
What is the clinical significance of the unfused vertebrae located between the notarium and the synsacrum?
Common spot for spinal fracture
T/F: Birds have a diaphragm
False
The movement of the Keel (sternum) along with the ribs expands and contracts the thoaric area to facilitate respiration
What structure do you use to tell the BCS of the bird?
Keel/Sternum
T/F: You only need to palpate one side of the keel when determining BCS
False .. kinda
You should palpate both sides to check for symmetry. This could help diagnose other things, like a fracture.
Why is it important to know where the ribs end?
Common site to preform air sac lavage, endoscopy, or place an airsac tube.
What bone is the “wish bone”?
Clavicle
The Clavicle, Coracoid and Scapula fuse to create what juncture?
The Triosseal Canal
Which is more important with flight? Upstroke or downstroke?
Downstroke
This is why the pectoralis is larger than the supracoracoideus
Can you flush a pneumatic bone for wound treatment if has a hole in it?
Yes, gently and carefully
Dont worry about the bird drowning from bone-airsac communication. It won’t happen.
Where can you place an IO catheter?
In a non-pneumatic bone, like the Ulna or Tibiotarsus
One of the most common sites for venipuncture is the wing vein. What are some other names for this vein?
Ulnar Vein
Basilic Vein
Brachial Vein
T/F: When examining the wing, do so by holding onto the feathers.
False
Hold onto the Humerus, Radius/Ulna. Hold bony structures so you have support and if they move their wing, you don’t rip out feathters.
What are the two main “ligaments” in the wing, that are often cut and end up decreasing surface area of the wing, thus poorly affecting flight?
The Patagium (Major and Minor)
What is one of the better sites to inject SQ fluids in a bird?
The Inguinal area
You will need to straighten the birds legs out to do this
What is the name of the large vein on the tarsometatarus?
Medial Metatarsal Vein
T/F: You can cut the toe nail to get a small blood sample
True
You CAN do it, but you shouldn’t. Thats just plain mean and you are opening them up to infection.
What system in the flexor tendon and tendon sheath provides grip upon flexion (even in DEATH)?
Retching System
What are two clinical significances of the nares?
- Good place for sampling
- Make sure they are not covered when restraining the bird or durring induction.
Name the palatine fissure that connects the oral cavity with the respiratory system and is a good place for sampling.
Choana
T/F: Birds lack a hard palate.
False
They lack a soft palate
T/F: Birds lack an epiglotis
True
What place in the trachea is it common to find FBs?
The bifercation of the trachea
What structure gives lungs their honeycomb appearance/reticular pattern on X-Rays?
The Parabronchi (or 3º Bronchus) which gives rise to air capillaries.
How many air sacs does a bird have?
9
T/F: Birds lack a diaphragm, their lungs do not expand, the lungs are tightly adhered to the ribs and there is bidirectional air flow through the lungs.
False
So close, but airflow is UNIdirectional
What boney structures are responisble for respiration?
Movement of the Keel and Ribs
On inspiration, which air sacs does the air flow to first?
Posterior thoracic air sacs and abdominal air sacs
T/F: The posterior and anterior air sacs expand and contract together durring respiration.
True
When does gas exchange occur in the lungs?
When air passes through the lungs on inspiration AND expiration
Because birds have a functional residual volume, is it ok if air is not constantly flowing through thier lungs?
PSYCH
They dont have a functional residual volume.
Reich’d!!
Sooo they need constant air flow
Is there mixing of “old” and fresh air when birds breathe?
Naw bra. Dey got dat unidirectional flow.
What % gas should you start with to induce a bird?
5%
Then reduce progressively as bird becomes anesthetized
What is the average O2 flow rate for birds?
1 L/min
If you want to gas down a bird with a mask and then remove the mask in order to do some procedure involving the face, would you rather use Iso or Sevo?
Iso
The anesthetic effects of Iso last longer than Sevo in birds. When using Sevo, pretty much as soon as the gas source is removed, they wake up. So it is safer than Iso in that regard.
Which is NOT a pre-anesthtic consideration for birds?
Fasting
Hydration
CBC/Chem
Analgesics
They are all pre-anesthetic considerations.
Made ya think, huh?
Why should you not inflate a tracheal cuff in a bird?
Because that can damage their complete tracheal rings
Also, if the tube is too snug in general, you can also get pressure necrosis
Be aware of Vagal Stimulation when trach tubing
Your bird is breathing normally on its own durring anesthesia. How many times per minutes should you provide GENTLE PPV?
2-4 times per minute GENTLY
What is the best method to recover a bird after anesthesia?
- Hold them upright
- Remove the trach tube when fairly recoverd (gaging, head and eye movement)
Which opioid prolongs anesthteic recovery in birds?
Butorphanol
If you need something for pain AFTER a procedure, try NSAIDs
If you do give Torb after a procedure, be sure to continue giving O2 with a tracheal tube until ready to recover.
When preforming air sac canulation, which air sac(s) are you placing the tube into?
One of the caudaul air sacs
Abdominals and Posterior Thoracic
How much better is avian eye acuity than humans?
2-8 times better
What are the three shapes of Avian eyes?
Which eyelid had more motility in birds?
Lower or Upper?
Lower lid
What direction does the nictitans sweep across the birds cornea?
superionasal to inferiotemporal
OR
Upper inner to Lower outter edge
What reflex is the most important for monitoring during anesthesia?
Palpebral reflex
Partial lid closure while the nictican makes a brisk, complete closure
Where does the avian nasolacrimal duct drain into?
Choanal Cleft
What is the name of the pneumatic bones that form a ring around the eye and limit its motility?
Scleral ossicles
What kind of muscle is the iris made of?
Skeletal
SO Atropine WONT dialate the eye
Use ISO to DIALATE eyes
The retina in birds is avascular. So how does it get nutrients?
The Pecten
You are looking at the retina and see blood vessels. Is the bird a mutant?
Naw, you are just seeing the blood vessels of the choriod underneath the retina.
What is the area of greatest visual acuity?
Fovea
Some birds have 2
T/F: Birds have a very quick direct PLR, no indirect PLR and have 100% decussation of nerve fibers in the eye.
True
You can use a slit lamp to determine if there are inflammatory cells in the ________ chamber of a birds eye.
anterior
Avians have ____ cardiac output and _____ blood pressure than mammals due to thier 4 chambered heart being 1.5-2x bigger in relation to their body size.
Greater CO
Higher BP
Which organ covers the heart?
The liver
Just like with reptiles, Neutrophils = ____ in avians
Heterophils
Which jugular vein is “bigger”?
The right
What % of body weight = total blood volume?
What % of blood volume can be safely sampled?
10% for both
1cc/____g BW can be safely collected
1cc/100g BW
OR
1% of BW
What side does the esophagus go to?
Right
Which organ is the stoarge area?
Crop
Which “stomach” is glandular?
proventriculus
Which “stomach” is mechanical/muscular?
It is a circular structure laying to the left
Ventriculus
aka the Gizzard
Do birds have a gall bladder?
Some do, it depends on the species
What is a vent?
The opening of the cloaca
T/F: The spleen is small and should not be seen normally in radiographs
True
The Thymus is responisble for T-cell development. What organ is responsible for B cell development?
Bursa of Fabricius
Both organs regress with age.
Do birds have any palpable lymphnodes?
While birds do have patches of lymphoid tissue, they do NOT have any palpable lymphnodes.
Where are the adrenal glands located?
Two little structures between the kidneys.
Similarly to reptiles, birds excrete uric acid, and you shouldn’t inject drugs in the lower half of the avian body becuase they have what kind of circulation?
Renal Portal System.
Male birds have two testes while females only have one ovary. Which ovary is developed in the female birdy?
the LEFT
Identify the labeled the structures
l = Lung
h = Heart
ll = liver
g = gizzard
s = spleen
i = intestines
ag = adrenal gland
go = gonads
k = kidneys
Identify the labeled structures
A - Trachea
B - Lungs
C - Airsacs
D - Liver
E - Crop (empty)
F - Proventriculus
G - Ventriculus
H - Intestines
J - Kidney
K - Heart
X - Gonads or Adrenals (shouldn’t see)
Y - Spleen (also shouldn’t see)
Know dem bones
Whats wrong?
SQ Emphysema
This is a normal bruise presentation in a bird. Why is it green?
Because biliverdine is green and birds lack biliverdine reductase .. ergo it doesn’t turn yellow-brown like in mammals
How do I know this isn’t bile?
- Bile would be a much darker green
- This speciese of Owl lacks a gall bladder
Whats wrong?
Left shoulder luxation
Oh nuuuu. What happen?
Cataract
Could be from age, trauma or idiopathic
You should always take at least 2 views when doing RADs. What may not have been seen in this Lateral if we had only taken a VD?
The pellet
Gross! I’m going to go ahead and flush these nasties out of the poor birdies eye. What else should I consider doing?
- Fluid Therapy
- Pain Meds - Meloxicam IM or PO 0.2-1 mg/kg SID
- Abx
- Anti-parasitical (most likely has been neglected if eye has gotten this bad, so probably has a bunch of parasites)
- Etc.. things you consider pertinent
This fatty comes in with difficulty breathing and a super bad odor from the mouth. You figure out this lump is actually a bunch of dead rotting mice and you want to get them out. What are some ways to do that?
- Hands off - supportive care with GI stimulants, Abx, Pain meds
- Manually remove food while patient is alert
- Anesthetize, place a tracheal tube and flush the crop & stomach
What is the avian maintenance fluid rate?
50 ml/kg/day
Assume > 10% dehydrated when calculating deficit and correct over a 3 day period
You notice some weird spots on/under the skin of a bird you are examining and assume it to be bruising. Later the bird dies and on autopsy you find this janky liver. You send some samples off to the lab and they come back and tell you the spots are caused by ______
Mycobacteria
This bird has West Nile Virus (a small Flavivirus). How did this manifest on this X-ray?
Enlarged Spleen
T/F: Wounds can often appear worse than they truely are when dealing with avians.
True.
So don’t panic. Be patient durring wound care.
Why is this bird giving you O.o eyes?
Horner’s Syndrome
What hormone, secreted by the adrenal glands, can make a sick bird appear to be healthy?
Adrenaline
What DZ be this?
Pox Virus
