Exotic integument Flashcards
What information can be gained from the condition of skin and feathers of birds?
- General health
- Nutrition status
- Management
- Environemental conditions
What is pododermatitis in birds?
- Bumblefoot
- Occurs in captivity due to inappropriately sized perches, obesity, hard perches, concrete lined ponds and walking on gravel
- Will see loss of pimples initially, then swellign and ulceration
- Advanced stages will see ulceration, inflammation, necrotic plugs of tissue, deep tissue and bone damage
Give some differences between the integumet of brids and mammals
- Avian thinner dermis
- Lack of hair follicles, have feather follicles
- Virtually glandless skin
- Skin of legs and feet in birds are different = podotheca
What are the layers of the epidermis in birds?
- Basal/germinative layer
- Intermediate layer
- Outer cornified layer
What is the function of the straited muscles found in the epidermis of birds?
To move skin
What are the division of the dermis in birds?
- Superficial layer
- Deep layer
Describe the superficial dermal layer of birds
- Varies in thickness depending on position and age
- Loosely arranged layers of collagen in interwoven bundles
Describe the deep dermal layer of birds
- Fat
- Feather follicles
- Smooth muscles that control movement of feathers
- Blood vessels and nerves that supply the dermis and epidermis
Describe the subcutaneous layer of bird skin
- Loose connective tissue
- Fat layer and discrete fat bodies
- Fat bodies yellow deposits beneath skin
- Areas of fat deposition vary from species to species and time of year (high in aquatic birds, pre-migration depositoin)
Why are the fat bodies of the subcutaneous layer of avian skin yellow?
Carotenoid pigments deposited into fat
What are some common areas of fat deposition in birds?
- Lateral pectoral muscles
- Cloacal region
- Back
Describe the podotheca
- Skin of feet and legs in birds
- Non-feathered
- Scales formed from raised heavily keratinised epidermis separated by folds of less keratinised tissue
- Pimpled architecture or smooth/wrinkled
Describe the attachment of the skin to the underlying muscles in the bird
- Over head, extremities adn sternum firly attached, non-moveable
- Over remainder of body more loosely attached but still limited moveability
Describe the glandular tissue of avian integument
- Effectively glandless
- lacking sebaceous and sweat glands
- Do have some specialised glands
List the glands of the avian skin
- Uropygial gland (preen gland)
- Glands of ear canal
- Pericloacal glands
Describe the uropygial gland
- Aka preen gland
- Holocrine
- Bilobed
- Dorsal to cloaca at end of pygostyle
- Caudally directed nipple
- Not present in all species (if not, need keratinocytes)
What is the function of the uropygial gland?
- Maintaining feather confition and secretions spread by preening
- Waterproofing (by keeping feathers in good repair)
- Contains pro-vitamin D, converted by UV to active vit D
- Suppress growth of micro-organisms
Describe the keratinocytes in birds
- Developing dermal cells undergo metamorphosis from cuboidal to squamous nature
- Lose organelles
- produce lipids and fibrous proteins (keratin)
- Dehydrate and lyse
- Lipid production from these makes entire skin “oil producing” gland
What are patagia in birds?
Skin reflected into flat, membrane like structures in areas where wings, legs, neck and tail join the body
Name and give the location of the 4 wing patagia
- Propatagium: neck and wing
- Postpatagium: caudal angle of carpi
- Metapatagium: caudal junction of wing and thorax
- Alular patagium: interspace btween alula and carpi
What is the function of the wing patagia?
Stability and aerodynamics
Describe the structure of the avian beak
- Bones of maxilla and mandible with horny covering (rhamphotheca)
- Similar to skin with modified epidermis
- Stratum corneum thick, cell bound calcium phosphate and layered crystals of hydroxyapatite, abundant keratin
- Combine to give beak hardness
Describe the bill tip organ in birds
- Mechanoreceptors in distal tip of beak
- Papillae from dermis ending in crater-like structures
- Sensitive to heat, cold, pressure and pain
- Variably present depending on feeding method (not in pecking)
Describe the cere of birds
- Situated at base of upper beak
- Composed of keratinised skin
- Nostrils
- Colour influenced by diet and hormones male budgies blue due to testosterone)
List the functions of feathers
- Flight
- Insulation
- Waterproofing
- Courtship, defence, aggressive territoral behaviour
What are pterylae and apteria?
- Pterylae: areas that contain feather tracts
- Apteria: areas without feather tracts
What are the components of feathers?
- Calamus
- Rachis
- Shaft
- Vane or vexillum
Describe the calamus of the feather
- Shot, hollow, tubular unpigmented end of mature feather
- Inserted into follicle
- Present below skin
- Normal appearance is rounded, may appear pinched off if disease
Describe the rachis of the feather
- Long, solid tubular extension of calamus above skin
- Contains pith composed of air-filled keratinised epithelial cells surrounded by soild keratinised outer cortex
Describe the shaft of the feather
Made up of calamus and rachis
Describe the vane or vexillum of the feather
- Portion of feather either side of rachis
- Composed of barbs and associated structures
- Vane either plumulaceous or pennaceous depending on individual feather type
How is the type of feather characterised?
Structure of rachis, barbs and barbules
- 10 types recognised
Describe the
a. countour feathers
b. covert feathers
c. remiges
d. retrices
a. predominant feather covering body
b. small countour feathers of wing and tail
c. large stiff feathers of wing
d. large flight feathers of tail
Names some specialised adapted feathers
- Semiplumes
- Hypopnea
- Filiplumes
- Bristles
Describe the down feathers
- Adult and natal
- Powder down feathers disintegrate and produce keratin powder that is spread thorugh feathers uring preening
- May be lacking in disease
Outline feather growth
- Feathers from feather follicles
- Invaginations of skin and closely fit calamus
- Follicle consists of epidermal and dermal eclls
- At umbilicus of calamus, dermis carries hump of pulp into tip of calamus
- Follicle lined by epidermal cells both living and cornified
Describe the innervation of the feather structures
- Follicular wall abundant sensory supply
- Papillae, pulp and feather muscles also well innervated
Describe the function of the smooth muscles at the base of feather follicles
- Maintain body temperature
- Increase or decrease elevation of feathers from skin
What is the function of Herbst’s corpuscles and where are they located?
- Base of feather follicles
- Detect subtle ground vibrations and changes in air current
Describe the process of moulting in birds
- Soft keratin structures (scales, comb, wattle, cere) underogo constant moult and replacement similar way to mammalian skin
- Feathers moult by growth of new feather, shedding of old one
What are the different moult patterns seen in birds?
- Gradual: last many months
- Dramatic: over in a few weeks
- Continual: powder down feathers
Describe the proximal control of feather moulting
- Complex, influenced by circannual rhyhms of changing photoperiod and temperature
- Pineal-hypothalamic-pituitary and ANS-endocrine pathways
- Influenced by oestrogens, progestergens, thyroid hormones, catecholamines and prolactin