THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM OF WHITE-NAPED CRANE AND ITS ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION
白枕鹤的呼吸系统及其生态适应

5 dead Whitt-naped Cranes were collected from Anhui Province during winter. 4 of them were anatomized to observe the macro and micro structures, another one was made into a casting mould specimen for the observation of the form and distribution of air sacs. Throat Contains stratified pavement epithelium, dense connective tissue, striated muscle and cartilage. The cartilage is ossified and with large cavities. There are Lymph nodules within the connective tissue. Trachea Winds within keel and lengthens with the bird growth (Fig. 1). It is composed of mucous membrane, fibracartilage membrane and membrana externa. The cartilage rings ossify gradually, the vacuities within it enlarge and fuse to form the marrow cavities. Syrinx Comes from a pair of specialized bronchi. Its internal lcteral wall is Tympanic membrane, mainly contains fibrous connective tissue, the middle part of cartilage of external lateral wall is ossified and with marrow cavities. Lungs It is as half long as the body length. Air sacs There are one pair of neck air sacs, one interclavicular air sac, one pair of prothoracic air sacs, one pair of metathoracic air sacs, one pair of proabdominal air sacs and one pair of postabdominal air sacs. Except for a small part in the abdomen (81mm X 40mm), air sacs distribute all over the body and enclose throat and abdomen. The branches of interclavicular air sac stretch into the osseous lacuna of keel and form keel air sac. These are all different from those of chicken and doves.