Heart of Birds (Pigeon) - Structure, Function, Diagram & MCQs
Heart of Birds ( Pigeon) - Anatomy, Physiology with Diagrams To support the intense demand for Oxygen and nutrients needed for flight, birds have developed the largest hearts related to the body mass of all vertebrates. Only a true four chambered heart is efficient enough to satisfy the metabolic oxygen demand produced by homoiothermy/ homeothermy ( constant body temperature independent of external environment). Flapping of wing for flight may be the most strenuous activity other than running, swimming and climbing, in which an vertebrate engage. This makes the circulatory system of birds more energy consuming system. Pigeon heart in dorsal (A) and ventral (B) view. The four chamber avian heart is similar, in most of the structural details to that of mammalian heart. The avian heart pumps blood more efficiently and is proportionately 40% larger than mammalian heart and moves comparatively more blood per beat (Lasiewski and Calder 1971). ( Exception: In birds- the aortic a...
