Reptile A&P

Question 1

Reptile oral cavity?

Answer 1

Reptile oral cavity?

.The mouth, lips, tongue, salivary glands and possibly teeth. Its function is picking up food, breaking it into smaller pieces and lubricating the food making it easier to swallow.

.Important to reptiles as some taste the environment with their tongues with help from the Jacobson’s organ in their mouth.

.Teeth are important for snakes as they use these to catch their prey as they have no limbs, and some kill or paralyze their prey by injecting them with venom from their fangs.

Question 2

Reptile Beak?

Answer 2

Reptile Beak?

.Beak - this is keratinized in chelonians. Its function is to break up food into smaller pieces making it easier to swallow.

Question 3

Reptile Tongue?

Answer 3

Reptile Tongue?

.Used to help push food toward the oesophagus and taste the environment depending on the reptile.

.Chelonians - have large fleshy tongues that help swallow food but cannot go out of their mouth well, not very far.

.Lizards - some have a tongue that is shaped like a fork which can travel a far distance out of its mouth to be able to catch prey and a sticky end which helps to catch their prey as they stick to it. The chameleon have very long and very fast tongues compared to other lizards like the bearded dragon and gecko.

.Snakes - have a thin forked tongue and can travel a far distance from its mouth. Lizards and snakes use their tongues to taste the environment by licking the environment with their tongues to catch odour particles with it then bringing it back into their mouth to meet the Jacobsen’s organ which receives the chemicals from it and sends the chemical messages to the brain to help with tracking the body heat of their prey.

Question 4

Jacobsen’s organ?

Answer 4

Jacobsen’s organ?

.This in the roof of the mouth and its function is to taste the environment. By licking the environment with their tongues to catch odour particles with it then bringing it back into their mouth to touch it which then receives the chemicals from it and sends the chemical messages to the brain to help with tracking the odour of their prey.

Question 5

Reptile Jaw?

Answer 5

Reptile Jaw?

.Is different to mammals as it has a special joint and the quadrate bone that makes it flexible and able to spread apart to makes it easier for reptiles like snakes to fit large prey in their mouth.

Question 6

Reptile salivary glands?

Answer 6

Salivary glands?

.Glands which make saliva to help with digestion.

.Their function is to keep the mouth and parts of the digestive system moist to help with transporting food.

.Snakes have more evolved salivary glands that produce venom to kill or paralyze their prey.

Question 7

Reptile oesophagus?

Answer 7

Reptile oesophagus?

.Oesophagus – This connects the mouth to the stomach. Its function is to move food from the mouth to the stomach.

.In snakes it is long and has more internal folds than other animals to allow for swallowing large prey.

Question 8

Reptile Stomach?

Answer 8

Reptile Stomach?

.Is simple in the reptile and It breaks down the food into small chemical units and to move the food to the Duodenum. It is a reservoir for food.

.The stomach contains hydrochloric acid and pepsin which helps reptiles that consume live, whole because it helps dissolve the tissues and bones of the prey.

Question 9

Reptile Caecum?

Answer 9

Reptile Caecum?

.This is the first part of the large intestine and is larger in herbivores. Its function is to absorb the waste taken from the small intestine into the body. It also mixes the waste with mucus so it can be transported through the rest body.

.For herbivore and omnivore reptiles the caecum breaks down the cellulose fibres from plants so the rest of the large intestine can digest the nutrients from it.

Question 10

Reptile Colon?

Answer 10

Reptile Colon?

.This is the last part of the large intestine. Its function is to get the indigestible food stuffs waste ready to be transported to outside of the body.

.Removes indigestible material & used to help with the reabsorption of water as the kidneys cannot produce liquid urine.

.Its function in herbivorous reptiles is to break down the cellulose from plants. Yes, because of fermentation by bacteria and other microbes It is longer in the herbivore to allow time for the breakdown of cellulose as this take a while to digest.

Question 11

Reptile Cloaca?

Answer 11

Reptile Cloaca?

.This is at the end of the digestive systems and has three parts the coprodeum part collects the faeces, the urodeum collects the uric acid, urates and reproductive system discharge and the proctodeum collects all the discharges from each system meaning the waste excreted is both faeces, uric acid and urates.

.The cloaca plays an important role in water reabsorption.

Question 12

Reptile Teeth?

Answer 12

Reptile Teeth?

.Different reptiles have different types of teeth.

.Chelonians do not have teeth but use their beak to eat their food.

.Lizards can have (pleurodont) teeth which can shed & are on the side of the jaw, with no tooth sockets & can be replaced. Also (acrodont) teeth which are not shed and sit on top of the jaw, with no tooth sockets.

.Snakes have six rows of teeth and are pleurodont teeth. Some snakes have fangs that help with their carnivorous diet as they produce venom via these fangs from a gland that lies above the oral cavity that can be delivered to their prey by their fangs.

.Crocodilians have thecodont teeth which are set in the jaw in tooth sockets like mammals.

Question 13

Reptile Tongue?

Answer 13

Reptile Tongue?

.Tongue – This in the mouth and its used to help push food toward the oesophagus and taste the environment depending on the reptile.

.Chelonians have large fleshy tongues that help swallow food but cannot go out of their mouth well, not very far.

.Some Lizards have a tongue that is shaped like a fork which can travel a far distance out of its mouth to be able to catch prey and a sticky end which helps to catch their prey as they stick to it. The chameleon have very long and very fast tongues compared to other lizards like the bearded dragon and gecko.

.Snakes have a thin forked tongue and can travel a far distance from its mouth. Lizards and snakes use their tongues to taste the environment by licking the environment with their tongues to catch odour particles with it then bringing it back into their mouth to meet the Jacobsen’s organ which receives the chemicals from it and sends the chemical messages to the brain to help with tracking the body heat of their prey.

Question 14

Reptile Kidneys?

Answer 14

Reptile Kidneys?

.There are two in the reptile, these have nephrons without loops of Henle, so they are not able to make concentrated urine.

.The reptile kidney produces uric acid instead of urea like mammals.

.It regulates and removes uric acid from the body and filter useful fluid to be sent to the bloodstream.

Question 15

Reptile Ureters?

Answer 15

Reptile Ureters?

.There are two in the reptile which are attached to each kidney.

.They carry urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder or colon for reptiles without a bladder.

Question 16

Reptile Cloaca?

Answer 16

Reptile Cloaca?

.This is at the end of the excretory system and the urodeum part in the cloaca collects the uric acid and urates.

.It removes uric acid and urates to outside of the body through the proctodeum part of the cloaca.

.The urinary bladder & rectum of the reptile empty into the cloaca and mix together (if they have a urinary bladder) and leave the cloaca through the vent.

Question 17

Reptile faeces & urine?

Answer 17

Reptile faeces & urine?

.Clear urine, chalky looking white urates and dark brown faeces.

Question 18

Reptile urinary bladder?

Answer 18

Reptile urinary bladder?

.Not all reptiles have a urinary bladder e.g. snake but for the ones that do it is where the urine is held and can stretch to make room for more.

.Its function is to collect and hold on to the urine until there is enough to be excreted.

Question 19

Air sacs?

Answer 19

Air sacs?

.Many reptiles have them e.g. air sacs in the chameleon allow the animal to inflate the whole body as a defence mechanism.

Question 20

Reptile lung?

Answer 20

Reptile lung?

.They have modifications according to the animal’s lifestyle.

.There are no alveoli with the functional structure being named faveoli.

.Turtles have well-formed, spongy lungs with multiple chambers that provide an increased surface area for gaseous exchange.

.Faveoli - at the end of the bronchioles providing what is described as a “porous” wall within each chamber.

.Faveoli are surrounded by capillaries and these complete the pathway of air into and out of the bloodstream.

Many reptiles also possess a unidirectional airflow system.

.Most snakes, only one lung, the right, is functional.

Question 21

Reptile respiratory tract?

Answer 21

Reptile respiratory tract?

.Nares 
.Nasal cavity
.Nasopharynx
.Pharynx 
.Epiglottis 
.Glottis/ Larynx 
.Trachea 
.Bronchi
.Bronchioles
.Faveoli

Question 22

Nadal cavity?

Answer 22

Nasal cavity?

In some lizards there are nasal salt glands in their nasal cavity which excrete sodium and potassium through the nares by sneezing.

Question 23

Glottis?

Answer 23

Glottis?

.In snakes it can be moved to allow for breathing while swallowing large prey.

Question 24

Reptile respiratory rate?

Answer 24

Reptile respiratory rate?

.A few breaths - 20 or more a minute

.They are ectotherms. When not at their optimum core temperature, respiratory rates will be low compared to when they have warmed up by basking in the Sun’s warmth.

Question 25

Reptile respiratory rate?

Answer 25

Reptile respiratory rate?

.A few breaths – 20 or more per minute.

Question 26

Snake vestigial limbs?

Answer 26

Snake vestigial limbs?

.Are very small hind leg bones in the caudal ü location of the snake.

.An example of a snake with such structures are the pythons.

Question 27

Snake vertebrae?

Answer 27

Snakes vertebrae?

.Their bodies are so long because they have a lot of vertebrae.

.Up to 400 vertebrae in the snake which all have ribs attached to them, is why they are so long.

Question 28

Reptile IM injection?

Answer 28

Reptile IM injection?

.The quadriceps muscles, the dorsal lumbar (epaxial) muscles and the pectoral muscles.

.Chelonia - there is a limited choice because of their shell: it prevents injection into the dorsal lumbar (epaxial) muscles.

Question 29

The Coelomic/ Pleuroperitoneal cavity?

Answer 29

The Coelomic/ Pleuroperitoneal cavity?

.Bird & reptile body cavity - within this cavity only the heart has its own separate cavity (the pericardium) which is common for all animals that possess a heart.

Question 30

Compare the internal anatomy of the reptile and the bird?

Answer 30

Compare the internal anatomy of the reptile and the bird?

.Reptiles and birds both have the pleuroperitoneal cavity, so they both don’t have a diaphragm.

.They also are both vertebrates.

.They are both oviparous, so they both lay eggs.

.They both have a cloaca, so they only have one opening for the end of the digestive, urinary and reproductive
systems.

.Birds do not have a bladder and some reptiles do not either like the snake.

.The testes of both the reptile and bird are located internally.

Question 31

Teeth?

Answer 31

Teeth?

.Reptile teeth - depends on whether a reptile is a carnivore (meat eater), a herbivore (a plant eater) or, an omnivore (eats both animal and plant materials).

.What are acrodont teeth? They are teeth that sit on top of the jaw, with no tooth sockets.

Question 32

The quadrate bone?

Answer 32

The quadrate bone?

.In the bird & reptile but is absent in mammals.

.The quadrate bone is part of the complex structure of avian and reptile jaws and in both, the joint to which it a part is set far back in the skull.

.The whole joint acts as a hinge, aided by elastic connective tissue. As a result, the gape of reptiles in particular the snake, is significantly greater than that of mammals.

.The purpose of this bone is to let the bird and reptiles open their mouth wide, it acts as a hinge.

Question 33

In reptiles, especially snakes, why do you think they require such a specific arrangement to their jaw?

Answer 33

In reptiles, especially snakes, why do you think they require such a specific arrangement to their jaw?

.I think they require such a specific arrangement to their jaw to allow wide separation of the jaw bones to be able to eat large prey.

Question 34

What are vestigial limbs and give an example of a snake with such structures?

Answer 34

What are vestigial limbs and give an example of a snake with such structures?

.Vestigial limbs are very small hind leg bones in the caudal location of the snake.

.An example of a snake with such structures are the pythons.

.Snakes bodies are so long because they have a lot of vertebrae. There can be up to 400 vertebrae which all have ribs attached to them in the snake body so, is why they are so long. The bones and muscles support the long body of the snake.

Question 35

What are pleurodont teeth?

Answer 35

What are pleurodont teeth?

.Teeth that are on the side of the jaw, with no tooth sockets.

Question 36

Reptiles circulation?

Answer 36

Reptiles circulation?

.A reptile’s heart rate and his circulation begins to increase when the environmental temperature increases because they are ectothermic, so they reply on the environmental temperature for their body heat, so if the temperature increases so will their heart rate and circulation.

Question 37

Ectothermic?

Answer 37

Ectothermic?

.Reptiles cannot generate their own body heat and because of that, the body’s enzymes cannot function at their optimum level.

.As the external temperature rises, this heat can penetrate the reptile’s body eventually bringing the core temperature to a level for enzymes to function effectively.

Question 38

Herbivorous reptiles GI tract?

Answer 38

Herbivorous reptiles GI tract?

.Their digestive tract is longer than that of a carnivorous reptile.

Question 39

Reptile vomiting?

Answer 39

Reptile vomiting?

.Rabbits, reptiles and birds are unable to vomit although some birds of course can regurgitate pellets e.g. owls.

Question 40

Reptile droppings?

Answer 40

Reptile droppings?

.Cloaca -serves the same purpose as the bird.

.All nitrogenous waste enters and is stored in a section of the cloaca until ready for egestion.

Question 41

Pancreas?

Answer 41

Pancreas?

.This is a gland next to the duodenum that has two function which are endocrine and exocrine. The exocrine part is used for digestion because it produces digestive juices that are rich in enzymes to be sent to the duodenum for breaking down nutrients.

Question 42

Liver?

Answer 42

Liver?

.This is not in the digestive tract but is next to it. Its function it to produce bile to be sent to the duodenum. It is sent to the duodenum through the bile duct to help with the digestion and absorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins.

.These vitamins are A, D, E and K. The liver removes the toxic substances from nitrogenous waste/uric acid before being sent to the kidneys.

Question 43

Gall bladder & bile duct?

Answer 43

Gall bladder & bile duct?

.Gall bladder This lies in the liver. Its function is to store bile that is made in the liver.

.Bile duct – This is connected to the gall bladder. Its function is to move the bile into the duodenum.

Question 44

Small intestine?

Answer 44

Small intestine?

.Duodenum – Small in carnivores and long in herbivores. This is the first part of the small intestine. Its function is to get intestinal and pancreatic juices to continue digestion and send the food to the jejunum.

.Jejunum and Ilium – This is the last two parts of the small intestine. They absorb the nutrients from food. through the intestinal wall The ilium carries the chemical units into the blood and here they then go to the liver. It transports the solid waste and liquid after absorption to the caecum.

Question 45

Abnormal droppings?

Answer 45

Abnormal droppings?

.Colour - yellow urates in droppings. This can be to do with too much calcium in the reptile’s diet or dehydration.

.Volume - increased droppings could be a sign the reptile is pregnant.

.Odour - Foul odour of droppings could be caused by a parasite.

.Consistency - soft and watery droppings could be caused by a type of worm.

Question 46

Reptile respiratory system?

Answer 46

Reptile respiratory system?

Birds and many reptiles have an additional feature: that of air sacs within their bones and/or body cavity.

.For example, air sacs in the chameleon allow the animal to inflate the whole body as a defence mechanism.

Reptilian lung have modifications according to the animal’s lifestyle.

Turtles have well-formed, spongy lungs with multiple chambers that provide an increased surface area for gaseous exchange.

There are no alveoli with the functional structure being named faveoli. These structures are found at the end of the bronchioles providing what is described as a “porous” wall within each chamber. Faveoli are surrounded by capillaries and these complete the pathway of air into and out of the bloodstream.

Many reptiles also possess a unidirectional airflow system. The snake is an exception to the standard respiratory system arrangement as for most snakes, only one lung, the right, is functional. The left lung is vestigial and a “left over” from their evolutionary history rather like vestigial limbs present in some snakes.

Question 47

Two forms of reptile lung?

Answer 47

Two forms of reptile lung?

The lung structure of a lizard (chameleon). Note the air sacs protruding from the body of the lung. The air sacs for a lizard are attached to the lungs. Septae (plural of septa), can form many chambers forming a multi-chambered lung structure.

Lung structure of the turtle. Note the spongy structure that gives a greater surface area for gaseous exchange and the multi-chambered form of this lung type. Such a structure allows for a greater quantity of oxygen to diffuse into the bloodstream at any one inhalation: a very useful adaptation for submerged swimming and foraging.

Question 48

Trachea?

Answer 48

Trachea?

This starts at the larynx and ends bronchi. This allows movement of oxygen to the lungs and takes carbon dioxide out of it.

.In snakes and lizards, the tracheal rings are incomplete.

Question 49

Glottis?

Answer 49

Glottis?

This is in front of the larynx and covers it when food is swallowed to make sure no food enters the trachea.

It opens the larynx to transports oxygen in and take carbon dioxide out of the trachea after swallowing food.

In snakes it can be moved to allow for breathing while swallowing large prey.

Question 50

Reptile passage of air from the nares to the bronchi?

Answer 50

Reptile passage of air from the nares to the bronchi?

Is the nares, nasal cavity, nasopharynx, pharynx, epiglottis, Glottis/ larynx, trachea and then the bronchi.

Question 51

Lungs?

Answer 51

Lungs?

These are in the chest of the Reptile and Bird. This takes in oxygen into the bloodstream and removes carbon dioxide from the bloodstream to outside of the body.

Only the right lung is functional in most snakes.

Question 52

Air Sacs?

Answer 52

Air Sacs?

Within the lungs in birds and reptiles. The air sacs take oxygen from the inhaled air. In some reptiles they can inflate the whole body.

Question 53

Faveoli ?

Answer 53

Faveoli ?

These are found in reptiles and are attached to the bronchi.

It diffuses oxygen into the bloodstream and takes diffused carbon dioxide out of the bloodstream to be taken outside of the body.

Question 54

The Passage of Air from the Bronchi to the Site of Gaseous Exchange?

Answer 54

The Passage of Air from the Bronchi to the Site of Gaseous Exchange?

.Reptile after the bronchi is the Faveoli where gaseous exchange takes place.