Morphological respiratory diffusion capacity of the lungs of ball pythons (Python regius)

Starck, J. Matthias; Aupperle, H.; Kiefer, Ingmar; Weimer, Isabel; Krautwald‐Junghanns, Maria‐Elisabeth; Pees, Michael

doi:10.1016/j.zool.2012.02.003

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Regarding lung morphometrics in I. iguana, the total lung volume showed a strong correlation with body mass (Table 5). An increase in lung volume as a function of body mass has also been demonstrated for other iguanids (Crotaphytus collaris and Sceloporus poinsettii), teiids (Tupinambis nigropunctatus), varanids (Varanus exan thematicus), crocodilians (Caiman sclerops) and snakes (Thamnophis ordinatus, Boa constrictor and Python re gius) (tenney & tenney, 1970;Perry, 1983;starcK et al, 2012). tenney & tenney (1970) report V L to show an allometric relationship with body mass as M B 0.75 for reptiles, including in their analysis species of lizards, snakes, testudines and crocodilians.…”

Section: µM 2 µMmentioning

confidence: 64%

Functional morphology of the lungs of the green iguana, Iguana iguana, in relation of body mass (Squamata: Reptilia)

Peixoto¹,

Klein²,

Abe³

et al. 2018

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Body mass is one of the most influencing factors of metabolic rate and gas exchange of animals, and also related to activity pattern and occupancyof ecological niches. This study aimed to understand the relationships between body mass (MB) and morpho-functional features ofthe lungs of Iguana iguana, through morphological and morphometric characterization of the structural elements of the respiratory system.Iguana iguana has lungs of the transitional type, the heterogeneously distributed parenchyma being faveolar in cranial and medial regionsand trabecular in the caudal region. Within the parenchyma, 43.6 ± 25.5% corresponds to faveoli, 18.0 ± 5.9% to interfaveolar septa, and38.7 ± 31.6% to trabeculae. Within the interfaveolar septa, 9.4 ± 4.0% corresponds to blood capillaries, 4.4 ± 1.0% to type I pneumocytes And 3.9 ± 1.1% to type II pneumocytes. Allometric analyses showed that lung (MB 0.8949) and parenchymal volume (MB 1.030) scale with MB in I. iguana just as in other lizards with unicameral or transitional lungs, which was unexpected for lung volume, since reptilian lung volume is generally considered to scale as MB 0.75. The functional orphology of the lungs in I. iguana seems to play an important role to meet the metabolic demands through ontogenetic growth.

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Section: µM 2 µMmentioning

confidence: 64%

Functional morphology of the lungs of the green iguana, Iguana iguana, in relation of body mass (Squamata: Reptilia)

Peixoto¹,

Klein²,

Abe³

et al. 2018

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show abstract

“…This might indicate that the air-blood barrier is affected early in the disease process, before bacterial secondary infection leads to more severe lung lesions. The huge spare lung capacity of snakes might explain why these early alterations do not lead to clinical signs of respiratory problems [60].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All tissue samples were evaluated histologically after fixation in 4.5% phosphate-buffered formalin, then embedded in paraffin, sectioned at 4μm, and stained with haematoxylin and eosin (H & E). Furthermore, for stereologic evaluation using light microscopy as well as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), lung tissue was taken from cranial, middle and caudal parts of the lung and immediately prepared for fixation, using 5% paraformaldehyde (for light microscopy) and 2.5% glutaraldehyde (TEM samples) each in 0.1 mol/l phosphate buffered saline (according to Starck [60], details listed there). For light microscopical morphological assessment, the samples were orientated as cross-sectional fragments through the organ, representing the tissue from the central lumen to the outer wall of the lung [61], and stained with methylene blue-thionine.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three genetically distinct ferlaviruses have varying effects on infected corn snakes (Pantherophis guttatus)

et al. 2019

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Ferlaviruses are important pathogens in snakes and other reptiles. They cause respiratory and neurological disease in infected animals and can cause severe disease outbreaks. Isolates from this genus can be divided into four genogroups–A, B, and C, as well as a more distantly related sister group, “tortoise”. Sequences from large portions (5.3 kb) of the genomes of a variety of ferlavirus isolates from genogroups A, B, and C, including the genes coding the surface glycoproteins F and HN as well as the L protein were determined and compared. In silico analyses of the glycoproteins of genogroup A, B, and C isolates were carried out. Three isolates representing these three genogroups were used in transmission studies with corn snakes ( Pantherophis guttatus ), and clinical signs, gross and histopathology, electronmicroscopic changes in the lungs, and isolation of bacteria from the lungs were evaluated. Analysis of the sequences supported the previous categorization of ferlaviruses into four genogroups, and criteria for definition of ferlavirus genogroups and species were established based on sequence identities (80% resp. 90%). Analysis of the ferlavirus glycoprotein models showed parallels to corresponding regions of other paramyxoviruses. The transmission studies showed clear differences in the pathogenicities of the three virus isolates used. The genogroup B isolate was the most and the group A virus the least pathogenic. Reasons for these differences were not clear based on the differences in the putative structures of their respective glycoproteins, although e.g. residue and consequential structure variation of an extended cleavage site or changes in electrostatic charges at enzyme binding sites could play a role. The presence of bacteria in the lungs of the infected animals also clearly corresponded to increased pathogenicity. This study contributes to knowledge about the structure and phylogeny of ferlaviruses and lucidly demonstrates differences in pathogenicity between strains of different genogroups.

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Not Enough Skeletons in the Closet: Collections‐Based Anatomical Research in an Age of Conservation Conscience

Bell

Mead

2014

The Anatomical Record

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The emergence of new technologies and improved computing power helped to introduce a renewed vitality in morphological research in recent decades. This is especially apparent in the new advances made in understanding the evolutionary morphology of the skeletal system in extinct and extant squamate reptiles. The new data generated as a result of the recent increase in attention are relevant not only for systematic analyses but also are valuable in their own right for contributing to holistic perspectives on organismal evolution, mosaic evolution in the rates of change in different anatomical systems, and broader patterns of macroevolution. A global community of morphological researchers now can share data through online digital collections, but opportunities for continued advance are hindered because we lack even basic data on patterns of variation of the skeletal system for virtually all squamate lineages. Most work on skeletal morphology of squamates is based on a sample size of n 5 1; this is an especially noticeable phenomenon for studies relying on X-ray computed tomography technology. We need new collections of skeletal specimens, both material and digital, and new approaches to the study of skeletal morphology. Promising areas for continued research include the recent focus on skeletal elements not traditionally included in morphological studies (especially systematic analyses based upon morphological data) and efforts to elucidate patterns of variation and phylogenetically informative features of disarticulated skeletal elements. Anat Rec, 297:344-348, 2014. V C 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Key words: Squamata; skeletal variation; morphology; computed tomographyA new age of discovery is under way in the study of skeletal morphology of squamate reptiles and the application of attendant data to evolutionary questions. This intellectual renaissance was shaped by several breakthroughs and opportunities that emerged over the last two decades. The most prominent of those breakthroughs were the emergence of new technologies for visualizing skeletal morphology, the development of rapid computing power and new systematic methods that permit novel treatment of traditional morphological data for systematic analysis, and an as-yet sluggish but increasingly prominent attention to detailed reinterpretation and documentation of the fossil record. Indeed, the only sector of the field that recently seemed locked in an anachronistic past is the material component of that research program-the specimen collections on which we base our studies. Even here, real change is afoot, as digital collections of morphological data gain both in prominence and in data content. There is a real need for online databases that document phenotypic data; excellent examples are DigiMorph (http://www.

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Morphological respiratory diffusion capacity of the lungs of ball pythons (Python regius)

Cited by 7 publications

References 38 publications

Functional morphology of the lungs of the green iguana, Iguana iguana, in relation of body mass (Squamata: Reptilia)

Functional morphology of the lungs of the green iguana, Iguana iguana, in relation of body mass (Squamata: Reptilia)

Three genetically distinct ferlaviruses have varying effects on infected corn snakes (Pantherophis guttatus)

Not Enough Skeletons in the Closet: Collections‐Based Anatomical Research in an Age of Conservation Conscience

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