Avian Digestive Physiology Flashcards
The ______ (organ) of a bird is very short
large intestine
What is the oropharynx?
combined cavity of the mouth and pharynx extending from beak to esophagus
How does a bird use its beak to drink water?
birds scoop water and lift beak
water goes down by gravity
What are the parts of the oropharynx in birds?
beak
laryngeal mound
taste buds throughout
Define laryngeal mound
caudal to base of tongue with median slit = glottis
Do birds have an epiglottis?
NO
Do birds have taste buds?
yes, in the oropharynx
The composition of birds saliva is mostly [water/mucus]
mucus, with some amylase
The crop is near the ______
thoracic inlet
The pre-crop is near the ______ region
cervical
What is the purpose of the crop?
to store food when rapidly eating, especially when the gizzard is full
The crop has a small amount of ______
fermentation
The crop is important for which types of birds?
birds that ARE prey
What are the parts of the avian stomach?
proventriculus
gizzard (ventriculus)
The proventriculus is the _____ chamber, with what components?
gastric chamber
HCl
pepsinogen
gastric lipase
mucus
The gizzard is responsible for ________
mechanical grinding
Small stone and grit accumulate in the ______
gizzard
What is the gizzard lined with?
a thick cuticle called koilin
There are solid secretions in the gizzard to protect from ____ & ______. Secretions solidify after exposure to ______
acid & pepsin
acid
Overall, these organs are a lot shorter in birds.
intestines
What is in the duodenal loop?
pancreas
The bird doesn’t have what carbohydrate?
lactose
What is Meckel’s diverticulum
yolk sac vestige
distinction between jejunum & ileum
How often are the gastroduodenal contractions in birds?
about 3/min
What are the sequences of gastroduodenal motility in birds?
contraction of thin ventricular muscles
2-3 peristaltic waves through duodeunum
contraction of thick ventricular muscles
peristaltic wave through ventriculus
How many times per hour does digesta reflux into ventriculus from the duodenum and upper jejunum
4x/hr
What is not present in hawks or songbirds?
paired ceca
The paired ceca is important for
microbial fermentation of cellulose
What is separated from ileum by ileocecal folds?
paired ceca
What happens in the paired ceca of birds?
water reabsorbed here from refluxed urine
urine from cloaca refluxed into ceca and uric acid provides nitrogen for bacteria
What happens in the large intestine?
water reabsorption
The cloaca is a common opening for _______, ________, and ________ systems
digestive
reproductive
urinary
What happens in the cloaca?
excrete feces and urine together
urine in form of uric acid
What is the vent?
opening to the exterior
What is the function of the bursa of fabricius?
immune function
What is the series of major and minor contractions?
cecal evaluation
What is the action of moving urine from cloaca to ceca to colon?
anti peristalsis in the colon
How many antiperistaltic contractions per minute are there in the colon?
10-14
Major contractions mean _______
defecation
Minor contractions mean ________
mixing
The liver is _______
bi-lobed
What species don’t have a gallbladder?
pigeons
Each lobe has a ______ draining into duodenum near pancreatic ducts
bile duct
Poultry have _____ cecal droppings per day
1-2
What is the difference between cecal droppings and intestinal droppings?
cecal: chocolate brown color, homogenous texture 1-2 cecal droppings
intestinal: greenish, granular texture; 25-50 intestinal droppings per day
High _____ diets will not be digested
fiber
What happens during an impacted crop?
consuming too much grass/fibrous material
can happen if go long time without eating and then fast, too much, or eat a lot of grass
food fails to move out due to obstruction
lack of normal muscle contraction
What happens in sour crop?
overgrowth of yeast —> disrupts normal bacteria/dilation and thickening of crop wall
bad breath
What is Marek’s disease?
affects nervous system controlling contractions
sour crop
