Osso trabecular de Gallus gallus

Abstract

The osteology of farm animals differs significantly between species, especially when comparing a bird to a mammal. The cellular matrix responsible for producing the inorganic substance of bones (osteoblasts and osteocytes) in birds exhibits greater mineral secretory activity compared to that of mammals. Consequently, bird bones become more rigid, but also more susceptible to fracture. As a physiological adaptation to compensate for this fragility, birds have developed structures called trabecular bones within their bones. These structures aid in stability, better distributing forces and stresses, which provides greater mechanical resistance to the skeleton, allowing it to withstand the functional demands of flight and locomotion. Furthermore, in laying hens, trabecular bones act as an additional mineral reserve, important during the eggshell formation process. The authors' objective was precisely to highlight these differences visually and in an easily understandable way, through the creation of scale models. This work was developed by academics from the Animal Science course at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) in the Introduction to Animal Anatomy (BA065) discipline, linked to the extension project "Knowing, respecting and producing birds: didactic and alternative models in the teaching and learning process".