Glândulas anexas do canal alimentar do Gallus gallus domesticus

Abstract

Chicken meat production and egg laying are directly related to the diet of domestic chickens, and understanding the alimentary canal and accessory organs that aid in the degradation and absorption of food is fundamental to production efficiency. This was the objective of the video developed by academics from the extension project "Knowing, respecting and producing poultry: didactic and alternative models in the teaching and learning process," linked to the Comparative Anatomy of Domestic Animals (BA066) course of the Animal Science program at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR). The oropharynx and alimentary canal correspond to the path taken by food in the body of birds and include, sequentially, the following organs: oropharynx, esophagus, crop, proventriculus, gizzard, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, and cloaca. Integrated into this digestive tract are the accessory glands (salivary glands, pancreas, and liver), essential structures that aid in digestion through the secretion of enzymes. In domestic chickens, the main accessory glands are the salivary glands, liver, and pancreas. This study highlighted the topography and morphology of the accessory glands, evidencing their respective functions in the digestive process. The liver acts both as an exocrine gland, secreting bile, and as an endocrine gland, participating in the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. The pancreas also plays a fundamental role, producing digestive enzymes responsible for the breakdown of nutrients, as well as secreting bicarbonate to neutralize acidic chyme, and in its endocrine action, secreting insulin and glucagon, hormones essential for controlling glucose levels in the body.