Avian Anatomy and

Physiology

Christine Fiorello, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACZM

Some slides from Heather Wilson, DVM, Dipl. ABVP Avian
 Integument
¾ 2 layers: Dermis and
epidermis
¾ Epidermis thin except for
certain areas
¾ Keratinization produces
special structures: beak,
nails, scales, feathers
¾ Lacks glands
 Feathers-7 types
¾ Contour
ƒ wing & tail
(flight)
¾ Semiplume
¾ Down
ƒ fluffy, no
barbules
¾ Bristle
ƒ “eyelashes”
¾ Powder down
¾ Hypopenna
¾ Filoplume
 Uropygial Gland
¾ “Preen gland”
¾ Bilobed holocrine gland
¾ Conditions feathers
¾ Not all species have one
 Purpose of
Feathers

¾ Flight
¾ Courtship
¾ Defense
¾ Insulation
¾ Waterproofing
 Contour
Feathers
¾ Rows (pterylae)
in most species
¾ Apteryla=feather-
less tracts
¾ Remiges=Wing
flight feathers
¾ Retrices=Tail
flight feathers
Primaries attach to metacarpals
Secondaries attach to ulna
 Waterproofing
¾ Preen gland secretions
are not necessary
¾ Interlocking of feather
barbules creates
watertight barrier
Musculoskeletal
System
Notarium

Synsacrum

Coccygeal
 Avian wings
¾ Unique structure
¾ Flight feathers
attached to ulna
and metacarpals
¾ Ulna > radius Bat

Pterodactyl

Superman
Pectoral girdle
 Clinical skeletal anatomy
¾ Spinal fractures
at juncture of
notarium and
synsacrum
¾ See with birds
who flew into a
window
 Fractures
¾ Bones are more brittle
compared to mammals
¾ Bones heal more rapidly
• 4 weeks
¾ Fibrocartilagenous healing
first
• may not be visible
radiographically
Pectoral Muscle
¾ Highly vascularized
muscle
¾ IM injections here
are absorbed rapidly
¾ Nonflighted birds
have soft, “flabby”
pectoral muscles
 Lower limbs
¾ Femur
¾ Tibiotarsus
¾ Tarsometatarsus
ƒ “Hock” is
tibiotarsal-
tarsometatarsal
joint
 Feet
¾ Each digit has +1
phalanx
ƒ Digit one has 2
phalanges
ƒ Digit two has 3, etc
¾ Parrots are
zygodactylus
ƒ Digits 1 & 4 face back
ƒ Digits 2 & 3 face forward
 Cardiovascular system
¾ 4 chambered
heart
¾ Encircled by
liver
¾ Right jugular
vein larger
than left
(which may be
absent)
 Lymphatic System
¾ No lymph nodes
¾ Lymph vessels follow veins
¾ Lymph plexuses (rete)
¾ Bursa of
Fabricius
ƒ B-cells
 Kidneys
¾ Adhered to
dorsal body
wall
¾ Retroperitoneal
¾ 3 lobes
¾ Excrete uric
acid and some
urine
Renal Portal System
 Nervous System
¾ Brain: 3 meniges & 12 CN as in mammals
¾ In contrast, birds have no neocortex
¾ Surface of cerebrum almost smooth
¾ Olfactory bulb relatively small
Mammal

Bird
Bird Brain
 Eyes
¾ Most birds have excellent vision
¾ More cones than rods (in general)
¾ No blind spot (no optic disk)
ƒ Pecten, unique to birds, provides nutrients
¾ Iris contains striated muscle--
can’t use atropine to dilate
ƒ Need curariform drugs
Coelomic
Cavities
¾ 16 separate
cavities within
body
¾ 8 air sacs
¾ 5 peritoneal
¾ 2 pleural
¾ 1 pericardial
 Upper
Respiratory Tract

¾ Nares
ƒ Cere
¾ Operculum
¾ Sinuses
¾ Conchae
¾ Choana
¾ Oropharynx
 Upper respiratory tract
¾ Nasal cavity
ƒ Communicates with
oral cavity
¾ Choana
ƒ exceptions
¾ No soft palate
choana
 Respiratory anatomy
¾ Trachea
¾Relatively large
¾Glottis at base of
tongue
¾Complete rings
¾ No diaphragm
¾ Syrinx
(no larynx)
 Clinical anatomy
¾ Choanal swabs
ƒ Chlamydiophila testing
ƒ Bacterial culture
¾ Sinusitis

¾Complete tracheal rings

ƒ Use extreme care with
intubated birds
 Infraorbital sinus
¾ Access: between medial
canthus and oral commissure
ƒ Diagnositc samples
ƒ Therapeutic flushing
¾ Easier than
trephining
a horse!
Infraorbital sinus
 Air sacs
¾ No gas exchange
¾ 9 air sacs in parrots
¾ Can ventilate via air
sac cannula
¾ Poorly vascularized
ƒ Bad place for infection
ƒ Air sacculitis difficult to
treat
 Air sacs
¾ Pneumatic bones
ƒ humerus, femur
ƒ Don’t put intraosseous
catheters here
¾ Must move sternum to
breathe
ƒ Don’t smush little birds
during restraint
ƒ Don’t lean on chests of
anesthetized birds
 Avian lungs
¾ Unidirectional air flow
¾Extremely efficient compared to mammals
¾ Gas exchange occurs in air capillaries
of parabronchi
¾ Rigid
lung
GI Tract
GI Tract
 Oral cavity
¾ Ramphotheca-upper sheath
¾ Gnathotheca-lower sheath
 Cervical Esophagus

Thoracic Esophagus

No gallbladder in parrots or pigeons

 Upper GI Tract
¾ Crop not present in
all species
¾ Proventriculus is
glandular stomach
¾ Ventriculus (gizzard)
is muscular
ƒ Lined with koilin
 Intestines
¾ Paired cecae mark the
junction between small
and large intestine
¾ Duodenum, jejunum,
ileum as
in mammals
Cloaca and
Vent
C
¾ GI and Urogenital
U tracts end in cloaca
¾ Coprodeum
¾ Urodeum
P ¾ Proctodeum
¾ Vent is opening into
cloaca
 Male
Reproductive
Tract
¾ 2 testis
¾ Rudimentary Iliac

phallus (may or
may not be
intromittant)
¾ Parrots non-
intromittant
 Female
Reproductive
Tract
¾ Left ovary
¾ Infundibulum
¾ Magnum
¾ Isthmus
¾ Uterus (shell
gland or oviduct)
 Adrenal Glands
¾ Paired
¾ Medial and cranial to kidneys and
gonads
¾ Function similar to mammalian adrenals
 Thyroid,
Parathyroid &
Thymus