Alligator Breath (1 of 3) (IMAGE)
Caption
These are lateral and dorsal views of an 11 kg American alligator during a natural apnea obtained with a 128 slice dual energy Siemens (New York, N.Y.) SOMATOM definition computed tomography unit. Three-dimensional volume renderings of the bones and of the bronchi of the lungs are shown. In vivo measurements as well as measurements made in excised lungs revealed that both air and water move unidirectionally from the head toward the tail in the large ventral bronchi (green color). The fluid moves in this direction both when the animal inhales and when it exhales and when water is injected or withdrawn. In the most cranial dorsal bronchi (blue bronchi) fluid moves unidirectionally, but in the opposite direction (from the tail toward the head). The dorsal bronchi are connected to the cervical ventral bronchus by numerous but much smaller bronchi, the parabronchi. This image relates to an article that appeared in the January 15, 2010, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. C.G. Farmer at University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, and colleagues, was titled, "Unidirectional Airflow in the Lungs of Alligators."
Credit
Image courtesy of C.G. Farmer
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