Internal Anatomy Flashcards
1
Q
Diet, temperature, BMR
A
- Very efficient digestive system
- 38 - 42 degrees Celsius
- High metabolic rate
2
Q
Weight gain
A
- voracious eaters
- prefer high energy food
- small birds eat proportionately more
3
Q
Food conversion
A
- excellent at converting food to tissue
- rapid digestion
4
Q
Digestive tract
A
Larynx - prevents food from entering stomach
Esophagus
Crop
5
Q
Roles of a crop
A
- food storage
- production of milk
- chemical digestion
- resonating chamber
6
Q
Pigeon “Milk”
A
- columbiformes
- composed of cells shed from epithelial lining
- high fat content
7
Q
Proventriculus
A
- “Anterior glandular stomach”
- anterior to gizzard
- secretes protein digesting gastric juices
8
Q
Gizzard
A
-grinds food into small bits
-muscular, strong
-lined with horny plates
Gastroliths - birds eat rocks
9
Q
Small intestine
A
- digestion, absorption of carbs, fats, proteins
- longer than larger intestine
10
Q
Cecae
A
- less important
- paired
- similar function to cecum
11
Q
Describe the circulatory system
A
- evolved independently from mammals
- 4 chambered heart
- heart is 50-100% larger and powerful than same sized mammal
12
Q
Heart rate
A
- faster than mammals
- at rest, slows to half of that of similar sized mammals
13
Q
Blood cells
A
- red nucleated blood cells
- biconvex
- larger than in mammals
14
Q
Describe the respiratory system
A
- most efficient of all vertebrates
- one way air flow over lung surface continuously supplies oxygen
15
Q
Lungs
A
- no bronchioles ending in sac like alveoli
- has tube like parabronchi through which air flows continuously
- 2% of body volume, 20% including air sac
