Volume 10
Issue 1
Veterinary Medicine
JOURNAL OF
POLISH
AGRICULTURAL
UNIVERSITIES
Available Online: http://www.ejpau.media.pl/volume10/issue1/abs-25.html
THE LIVER MORPHOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF HORSFIELD’S (TESTUDO HORSFIELDI) AND HERMANN’S (T. HERMANNI) TERRESTRIAL TORTOISES
Krzysztof Marycz1, Katarzyna Rogowska2
1 Electron Microscope Laboratory,
Departament of Animal Hygiene and Ichthyology,
Wroc³aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
2 Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding,
Wroc³aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
ABSTRACT
In Poland most often meet tortoises are Horsfield’s (Testudo horsfieldi) and Hermann’s tortoises (T. hermanni). Each of this species during winter and summer hibernate. On areas with very long winter, Horsfield’s tortoise is active only about three months a year. The most interesting is tortoise alimentary canal, because they are herbivorous. The one from more interesting organs of alimentary canal is the liver, which is the energy centre of the organism. The type of food influences on the shape and size of the tortoise liver. The aim of the study was examined the structure, shape, position and vascularity of the discussed organ. In the investigation were used 19 Horsfield’s tortoises (11 females, 8 males) and 19 Hermann’s tortoises (5 females and 14 males). For the morphometrical study were used 15 individuals from every species, remaining (4 individuals of Horsfield’s tortoise and 4 individuals of Hermann’s tortoise) were used to made injection – corrosive preparations. Livers both of species had very precise defined position with relation to the plastron and carapax. The liver mass of Horsfield’s tortoise was greater than liver mass of Hermann’s tortoise, what caused by difficult conditions in which it lived.
Key words: tortoise, liver, mass, asymmetry coefficient, morphometry, anatomy, topography.
Krzysztof Marycz
Electron Microscope Laboratory,
Departament of Animal Hygiene and Ichthyology,
Wroc³aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
Ko¿uchowska 5b, 50-375 Wroc³aw, Poland
Phone: +48 71 320 58 88
email: krzysztofmarycz@interia.pl
Katarzyna Rogowska
Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding,
Wroc³aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland
Ko¿uchowska 7, 51-631 Wroc³aw, Poland
email: rogows_ka@op.pl
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