Reticulated pythons or python reticulatus are a species of snake found in Southern Asia and are part of the python genus meaning they are nonvenomous and kill there prey by constriction and asphyxiation. They are considered as the world's longest (although to the bulkiest) snake with the largest accurately recorded length to be of a snake known as Medusa who measured in at an incredible 7.67 m (25 ft 2 in) long [1] although there have been reports of snakes reaching 10.1 m (33 ft 1 in). These snakes have been suggested to be one of the few snakes who can actually target humans as prey and have been linked to a number of human fatalities. The Respiratory system Snakes have a small opening just behind the tongue called the glottis, which opens into the trachea. Unlike what mammals have, the reptile glottis is always closed, forming a vertical slit, unless the snake takes a breath. A small piece of cartilage just inside the glottis vibrates when the snake forcefully expels air from its lungs. This produces a snake’s characteristic hiss. Snakes are able to extend their glottis out the side of their mouth while they eat, which allows for respiration while they consume large prey items. The trachea is a long, straw-like structure supported by cartilaginous rings. These rings are incomplete in that the snake looks more like a C than an O. A thin membrane completes the open part of the C. This configuration is also seen in lizards, but the function of the incomplete rings remains unknown. The trachea usually terminates just in front of the heart, and at this point it splits into the two primary bronchi, airways that direct air into either the left or right lung. In most snakes the short left bronchus terminates into a rudimentary left lung and only the right lung is used. however in the case of Boas and Pythons such as our Reticulated Python both lungs are used. The left lung can also be used by water snakes but as an aid for buoyancy rather than for respiration. Snakes breathe principally by contracting muscles between their ribs. Unlike mammals, they lack a diaphragm. Inspiration is an active process (muscles contract), whereas expiration is passive (muscles relax). The portion of a snake’s lung nearest its head has a respiratory function; this is where oxygen exchange occurs. The lung portion nearest the tail, regardless of the lung’s size, is more of an air sac. The inside of these sac portions look more like the inside of a balloon than a lung. There is no exchange of respiratory gases.
4 Comments
Mr Lovat
2/1/2016 04:07:53 pm
Well I never knew they didn't have a diaphragm! Great article with good descriptions and clear use of diagrams. I would like to see you referencing your material!
Reply
Tom Lewis
1/2/2016 12:37:45 pm
good job. it was very well presented and I didn't know that snakes have a glottis which makes them hiss. 10/10
Reply
Louis
1/2/2016 01:03:41 pm
Great. I didn't know snakes had a glottis and could breath while eating.
Reply
dante
10/8/2016 05:52:00 pm
Great
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Jack BojanArdingly College Archives
March 2017
|