LAB 5 thoracic cavity of cat

Question 1

what major organs are contained in mediastinum?

Answer 1

heart, trachea, esophagus, thymus

Question 2

what major organs are contained in pleural cavities?

Answer 2

lungs

Question 3

what kind of cartilage are the c-shaped rings in the trachea made of?

Answer 3

hyaline cartilage

Question 4

what is the function of the c-shaped structure?

Answer 4

dorsal opening allows esophagus to expand when food travels caudally

Question 5

structurally, why does the esophagus feel soft, while the trachea feels hard?

Answer 5

trachea has cartilage rings, esophagus doesn’t

Question 6

how many secondary bronchi does the cat have on the right side?

Answer 6

4

Question 7

how many secondary bronchi does the cat have on the left side?

Answer 7

3

Question 8

why should the left ventricle feel harder than the right ventricle?

Answer 8

thicker myocardium

Question 9

how is the specific function of each ventricle facilitated by differences in structure?

Answer 9

left pumps to whole body (bigger and stronger), right pumps only to lungs (smaller and weaker)

Question 10

what kind of blood vessel is the pulmonary trunk?

Answer 10

artery

Question 11

what chamber of the heart does the caudal vena cava empty into?

Answer 11

right atrium

Question 12

why is the azygos vein named appropriately?

Answer 12

it is not paired and not symmetric (there’s only one)

Question 13

what is the primary vessel moving blood below the diaphragm into the heart?

Answer 13

caudal vena cava