Esqueleto apendicular de Gallus gallus: Membro pélvico

Abstract

The skeleton of birds presents several distinct characteristics adapted for flight. The main anatomical differences of the bird's pelvic limb are related to adaptation for bipedal locomotion on the ground (walking/running) and, secondarily, to assistance in landing and takeoff for flight, since flight itself is primarily propelled by the thoracic limbs (wings). Understanding the set of structures that make up this limb, in addition to highlighting its main anatomical features, was the objective of the video developed by academics from the extension project "Knowing, respecting and producing birds: didactic and alternative models in the teaching and learning process", linked to the discipline Anatomy of Domestic Animals (BA065) of the Zootechnics course at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR). The coxal bone of birds is fused to the synsacrum (vertebral column) and does not have a pelvic floor, an adaptation to the process of reproduction and fetal development (oviposition). The bony pelvis is important for the support and protection of the organs. In the thigh region, the femur can be observed. In the knee region, there is the patella, and sequentially in the thigh, the presence of the largest long bone in birds, the tibiotarsus, adjacent to the fibula. Distally, there is the tarsometatarsus, a single bone formed by the fusion of the tarsal and metatarsal bones, and distally, the phalanges, organized into digits I, II, III, and IV. The distal phalanx of each digit forms the claw, fundamental for the bird's support and posture.