Anatomical study of the digestive tract of Heterospizias meridionalis e Gampsonyx swainsonii (Accipitridae)

Abstract

Among the more than 1600 bird species found in Brazil, many are being raised as pets or kept in captivity, whether in zoos or farms conservationists, a fact which raises the need for more knowledge of anatomical and physiological order in these animals. The digestive system is the "box" of the body responsible for the maintenance of life, and the digestive tract of each bird adapted to process and use as efficiently as possible the food available in their habitat. In order to increase their knowledge regarding the anatomical digestive tract of birds, we dealt with in a study anatomotopographic, two specimens of birds, Gampsonyx swainsonii and Heterospizias meridionalis, representatives of the order Accipitriformes, donated by IBAMA, Uberlândia / MG. In the Laboratory Teaching and Research in Wildlife (LAPAS) UFU, the birds were photographed and identified as to species and dissected for the purpose of obtaining information on topography, form and dimensions of the segments of the digestive tract. The digestive tract of the specimens studied showed little topographical variations and Gampsonyx swainsonii has no cecum, which was observed in Heterospizias meridionalis.