Chapter 6: Physiology Flashcards
Describe similarities of birds to mammals
- both are endotherms
- Birds and mammals regulate their body temperatures to be just below temperatures that destroy body proteins
Describe differences in birds vs. mammals
birds have:
Higher metabolic rate
Higher body temperature
Higher cardiac output
More efficient respiratory system
Higher blood pressure
Higher blood sugar concentration
External nares
- can have operculum and ceres
Operculum
convers and protects nostrils
Cere
- soft, fleshy, typically bare patch at the base of the upper side of the bill
- may play role in respiration or smell
Turbinates
- conchae
- Surfaces of the conchae cleanse and heat the air before it enters the respiratory tract
- nasal passages bring air into oral cavity
Glottis
- opening to the trachea and larynx
- in the floor of the pharynx, surrounded by pharynx
Trachea
The typical bird trachea is 2.7 times longer and 1.29 times wider than that of similarly-sized mammals
- larynx(cartilaginous rings) is a valve that allows air into the trachea
Syrinx
- located at the lower end of the trachea, and above the bronchial entrances
- voice-box of birds, where trachea divides into lungs
Describe the 3 types of syrinx
- tracheal syrinx: one trachea passage, surrounded by lots of muscle, one narrow opening into bronchus
- bronchial syrinx: wide trachea, small amounts of muscle, splits into 2 passageways to 2 separate bronchus
- tracheobronchial syrinx: mediator of muscle, wide trachea, has pessulus at the top of the divide into two bronchus passages
Describe relationship between the lungs and the air sacs (also can be known as unidirectional ventilation)
- expiration: airs sacs can hold air before oxygen exchange (posterior air sacs) in the lungs or inspiration: after the air has left the lungs (anterior air sacs)
-expiration: anterior air sacs lead out into environment - air can travel over cervical air sacs in order to create bird calls and sounds
What are parabronchi?
-tightly packed, thick‐walled tubes
- Walls contain hundreds of air vesicles within the tissue, sometimes called air capillaries, which intertwine with a network of blood capillaries
Cross current ventilation
- air flow going through air vessel one direction, blood flow going through blood capillary in the other direction
- across air flow, oxygen is high and slowly decreases; CO2 is low and slowly increases
- across blood flow, CO2 is high and slowly decreases; oxygen is low and slowly increases
Which muscles are used for ventilation?
the intercostal muscles, encompass around the sternum and ribcage
How do gases cross the eggshell in birds and diffuse into the embryo?
- pores in the eggshell allow air to pass the allantois and chorion membranes for the egg to get air
- pores carry oxygen to the chorioallantois(respiratory membrane) over the outer and inner shell membrane
Name chambers of bird heart
- right atrium, left atrium, right ventricle, and left ventricle
Right Atrium
receives deoxygenated blood (rich in carbon dioxide) from the head and body via the caval veins
Right ventricle
pumps that blood from right atrium into the pulmonary arteries to be oxygenated in the lungs
Left atrium
receives oxygenated blood from the lungs via the pulmonary veins
Left ventricle
contracts to pump that blood into the aorta for distribution throughout the body
- wall thicker than right ventricle, since pumping blood requires lots more power
Bird vs. human hearts
- Birds tend to have larger hearts than mammals (relative to body size and mass)
- Avian hearts also tend to pump more blood per unit time than mammalian hearts
Name the main bird arteries
- large renal artery from top to bottom, branches into limbs and bottom
- one pectoral artery
- has left and right subclavican artery
- pulmonary arteries in lungs
- brachial arteries in wings
name 2 main venous systems in birds
- Hepatic portal system
- Renal Portal System
Hepatic Portal system
- blood from GI tract that goes back to liver (filters out toxins)
- hepatic veins from liver, Portal veins back to liver
Renal Portal System
- blood flow through kidneys before it goes back to the heart
Name blood cells in birds
- Red blood cells (nucleated)
Types of White blood cells:
* Lymphocytes
* heterophils
* Monocytes
* Eosinophils
Red blood cells
- carry oxygenated blood
White blood cells
- help fight bodily infections, leukocytes
Lymphocytes
- some associated with digestion
- produce antibodies
- involved in immune response
Heterophils
- phagocytic leukocytes
- great ability to kill off bacteria/antigens
monocytes
help fight off infection
eosinophils
- fight off parasites, fungi, allergens
