Comparative Anatomy of the

Vertebrates:

[CHAPTER 13:

Respiratory System]

OUTLINE
I. Respiration and Respiratory Devices
II. Gills
A. Agnathans: Hagfishes versus Lampreys
B. Cartilaginous Fishes
C. Bony Fishes
D. Larval Gills
E. Excretory Role of Gills
III. Nares and Nasal Canals
IV. Swim Bladders and the Origin of Lungs
A. Two Kinds of Swim Bladder
B. Functions of the Swim Bladder
V. Larynx and Vocalization
VI. Lungs and their Ducts
A. Amphibian Lungs
B. Nonavian Reptilian Lungs
C. Lungs and Their Ducts in Birds
D. Mammalian Lungs

Plethodontidae is the family of salamanders. They

have neither lungs nor gills. They rely a lot on
cutaneous respiration.

I. RESPIRATION AND RESPIRATORY DEVICES

4. Water enters the median

unpaired naris

EXTERNAL RESPIRATION
- process of obtaining O2 from the environment
and elimination of CO2
- carried on through respiratory membranes
1. Highly vascular
2. Thin semipermeable epithelium
3. Moist surface
4. Must be in contact with the
environment (as in gills) OR else the
environment must be brought into
contact with the Resp. surface (lungs)

II. GILLS
A. AGNATHANS
Hagfishes

Lampreys

1. Presence of 5 to 15
branchial pouches

1. 7 gill pouches
bounded by gill
filaments/lamellae

2. Incurrent or afferent
branchial ducts (from the
pharynx to the gill pouches)
3. Excurrent or efferent ducts
(lead from the pouches to
the exterior)

5. passes via
nasopharyngeal duct to a
velar chamber
6. Unidirectional
~ Pharyngocutaneous duct
is the modified last gill pouch

2. no intervening
afferent or efferent
ducts
3. Respiratory water
enters and exits the
pharyngeal pouches
via the external gill slits
4. Pharynx subdivided
longitudinally into an
esophagus and ventral
respiratory tube
guarded by velum
5. Bidirectional or Tidal
Movement

Jawed Fishes: pharyngeal arch mechanism

Diffusion =
B. CARTILAGINOUS FISHES
INTERNAL RESPIRATION
- exchange of O2 and CO2 between capillary
blood and tissue fluids

DIFFERENT RESPIRATORY DEVICES:

CHIEF ORGANS:
External and internal gills
Oropharyngeal mucosa
Air sacs or lungs
Skin
LESS COMMON DEVICES:
Filamentous outgrowths of the pectoral fins
Filamentous outgrowths of the posterior trunk
and region and thigh (fingerlike papillae)
Cloacal, rectal, or anal lining
Lining of GI tract
Extraembryonic membranes

1. PENTACHNID: 5 pairs of gill pouches and a

pair of functional spiracles = 5 pairs of naked
gill slits
PSEUDOBRANCH is a miniature gill-like
structure with rete that regulates BP in the
eyeball
2. SPIRACLE is the exclusive incurrent aperture
for respiratory water in Rajiformes. Mouth can
also be used in other sharks
3. Water is forced out via the external GILL
SLITS
by
constrictor
muscles;
thus,
unidirectional
4. Presence of gill chamber + 2 demibranchs
separated by interbranchial septum supported
by gill rays + muscles, nerves and tissues =
HOLOBRANCH
PRETTREMATIC db: anterior wall of gill
chamber
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Comparative Anatomy of the

Vertebrates:

[CHAPTER 13:

Respiratory System]

POSTTREMATIC db: posterior wall of gill

chamber

E. EXCRETORY ROLE OF GILLS

Gills excrete:

5. GILL RAKERS guard the slitlike entrances into

the gill chambers, protecting the gills from
mechanical injury

6. Countercurrent
efficiency

flow

of

blood

maximizes

7. Pressure is nearly always higher in the

pharyngeal chamber than in the gill pouches
C. BONY FISHES
1. Presence of OPERCULUM and opercular
chambers; 5 gill slits

Marine salts
Chloride in salt water; absorb Chloride in
freshwater
Nitrogenous wastes (vs. tetrapod kidney)
Carbon dioxide

III. NARES AND NASAL CANALS

1. EXTERNAL NARES
openings leading to nasal passages; In
cartilaginous and ray-finned fishes they open
directly into blind olfactory sacs that contain
sensory epithelia for smell

2. Water is drawn with the MOUTH open and

operculum closed

a. INCURRENT APERTURE
- forward-directed
- through which water is driven

3. Water is forced to the exterior via the

OPERCULAR CLEFT by compressing the
opercular chamber; thus, unidirectional

b. EXCURRENT APERTURE
- laterally or ventrally directed
- through which water exits

4. Same
basic
pattern
but
SHORTER
BIFURCATING interbranchial septa since
demibranchs are unattached distally, allowing
water freer access to their capillaries

Posttrematic demibranch is lost

5. Branchiostegal membrane supported
branchiostegal rays and gular bones

by

2. INTERNAL NARES/ CHOANAE / NASAL CANALS

arise from paired nasal pits and oronasal
grooves, which roll to form a tube
Mammals:
upper chamber = olfactory epithelium
lower chamber = ciliated glandular
nasal epithelium

Proboscideae:
External naris at the end of the trunk

Platyrrines:
Septum separating nostrils are wide

Catarrhines:
Septum separating nostrils are narrow

Cetaceans:
No nose; instead, a median dorsal
blowhole that migrates (or unite in
some) in ontogeny. This functions in
breathing
air
and
for
visual
communication

8. Oral valve prevents the escape of water by

mouth
D. LARVAL GILLS
1. External Gills
outgrowths from the external surface
of one or more gill arches
found in amphibians and lungfish
2. Filamentous extensions of internal gills
project through gill slits to the exterior
occurs during early development
also absorbs nutrients from uterine
fluids (histotrophic nutrition)
found in Scyllium

IV. SWIM BLADDERS AND THE ORIGIN OF LUNGS

SWIM BLADDER (or gas bladder)

3. Internal gills
hidden behind larval operculm
found in late anuran tadpoles

unpaired evagination from or outpocketing

or diverticulum from the foregut that
becomes one or a pair of pneumatic sacs
with vascularizations and cavitations
called FAVEOLUS
functions as floatation device
retroperitoneal like the kidneys
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Respiratory System]

A. 2 KINDS OF SWIM BLADDER

Pneumatic duct connection to the digestive tract
1. PHYSOSTOMOUS
when the pneumatic duct PERSISTS or
retains its connection with the foregut or
remain open
~ Chondrosteans, basal neopterygians, three
living dipnoans, some teleosts

V. LARYNX AND VOCALIZATION

1. LARYNX

2. PHYSOCLISTOUS
when the pneumatic duct does NOT persist.
~ Many teleosts
A pneumatic sac was functioning in aerial respiration
long before craniates ventured on land, and closure of
the pneumatic duct in physoclistous fishes is probably
derived from a more primitive open-duct condition.
RED GLAND
Localized rete of small arteries in the bladder
lining; oxygen from the circulatory medium
diffuses in
The pocket can be closed off from the main
cavity by an oval gland w/ muscular sphincter
RETE MIRABILIA

a short air passageway between the glottis

and the upper end of the trachea of
tetrapods
supported by cartilaginous laryngeal
skeleton (from the caudalmost pharyngeal
arches)
urodeles: pair of lateral cartilages
nonmammalian tetrapods: arytenoid
and cricoid cartilages
mammals: plus thyroid and additional
small
cartilages
(in
some):
cuneiforms, corniculates, procricoid
whales: beaked permitting prolonged
inhalation of fresh air
high in adult mammals, thus allowing them
to drink while breathing
high in babies, thus allowing them to suck
while breathing. Then it descends after 18
months, facilitating human speech.

The ACT OF SWALLOWING draws the larynx upward

against the epiglottis, momentarily blocking the
entrance to the larynx and thereby preventing food
from entering the lower respiratory tract. But each
blockage can be only momentary.

B. FUNCTIONS OF THE SWIM BLADDER:

1. HYDROSTATIC ORGANS
maintain the appropriate depth in a body of
water or to hover at a specific location
2. HEARING
analogous to Weberian ossicles that
connects to the anterior end of the swim
bladder with sinus impar
~ Cypriniformes
3. SOUND PRODUCTION
recoils, producing a popping or croaking
sound for communication
4. RESPIRATION
in physostomous fishes
The lungfishes, Protopterus and Lepidosiren, drown if
held under water for a sufficient length of time. They
rely not only with external gills but also with their skin
and gas bladder!
Swim bladders usually degenerate in bottom feeders.

2. VOCAL FOLDS / CORDS

Folded within or across the laryngeal

chamber

During vocalization, INTRINSIC MUSCLES of the

larynx alter the positions of the cartilages, thereby
regulating the tension on the cords.
The PITCH OF HUMAN VOICE is a function of the
amount of tension within the cords.

Hippos and basenjis lack vocal cords

Howler monkeys have enormous

thyroid and associated hyoid bones

Apodans and urodeles are mute, as

are most reptiles

Anurans have vocal sacs

Birds lack vocal cords; instead, they

have an avian voice box called
SYRINX surrounded by syringeal
muscles; this may be bronchial,
tracheal, or bronchotracheal

Pessalus is a bony projection inside

the syrinx that vibrates to form sound
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Vertebrates:

[CHAPTER 13:

Respiratory System]

3. FALSE VOCAL CORDS

fleshy folds located at the entrance to the

vestibule of the larynx, located just above
the true cords
produces sounds such as purring in kittens
prevents fluid from entering the glottis
thus, assisting the epiglottis
crocodilians have in addition, a fleshy
valve, the PALATINE VELUM

A. AMPHIBIAN LUNGS

4. GULAR FOLDS / DEWLAP

saccular evagination just under the skin of

the throat; supported by the hyoid bone;
functions as a sex attractant

simple sacs
internal lining may be smooth throughout,
there may be simple sacculations in the
proximal part, or the entire lining may be
pocketed
POSITIVE-PRESSURE BREATHING
- There is a higher air pressure inside
relative to the outside (atmospheric
pressure)
- Pressure is generated within the body
(buco-pharyngeal cavity) to propel air
into the lungs
- Rhythmic
contraction
is
one
respiratory cycle

B. NONAVIAN REPTILIAN LUNGS

5. TRACHEA

windpipe supported by cartilaginous rings

biforcates to become two primary
BRONCHI
forms the syrinx in birds

The trachea is ordinarily as long as the neck.

Sometimes it is longer to accommodate looping, as in
turtles, swans, and some crocodiles.

VI. LUNGS AND THEIR DUCTS

1. LUNGS

arise as an unpaired evagination from the

caudal floor of the pharynx;
outpocketing of the foregut (homologous
to gas bladder) but there are differences in
structural position
fishes: dorsal to viscera
tetrapods: ventral to viscera

Dipnoans gas bladders are called lungs.

a longitudinal slit that arose from the

opening in the pharyngeal floor

Presence of tendonous oblique septum

isolates the paired pleural cavities from the
rest of the coelom
Squamates employ intercostals muscles and
ribs
Crocodilians employ ribs and a pair of long
striated diaphragmatic muscles (derived from
hypaxial musculature)
In turtles, the reflex of pectoral girdle plays a
major role in ventilation of lungs

C. LUNGS AND THEIR DUCTS IN BIRDS

2. GLOTTIS

simple sacs in Sphenodon and snakes (1)

In lizards, crocodilians, and turtles, septa
divide the lungs into numerous large chambers
With faveoli (cavitation and vascularization) at
the anterior to increase surface area for
absorption
POSITIVE-PRESSURE BREATHING

presence of oblique septum

incoming air: Trachea 1 bronchus
Mesobronchus AIR SACS Lungs
air sacs (6 pairs) are voluminous, thin-walled,
distensible diverticula of the lungs; helps in
thermoregulation and buoyancy in air
dorsobronchi and ventrobronchi are connected
by PARABRONCHI (with air and blood
capillaries)
air flow is UNIDIRECTIONAL

Unlike the lungs of other tetrapods, those of birds

contain no residual air.

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Comparative Anatomy of the

Vertebrates:

[CHAPTER 13:

Respiratory System]

D. MAMMALIAN LUNGS

incoming air: Trachea 1 bronchi Hilus

(2 bronchus 3 bronchus Bronchioles
ALVEOLAR DUCTS)*Lung
usually multi-lobed
the right and left lungs are separated in the
midline by the MEDIASTENUM
unique dome-shaped DIAPHRAGM that
functions as a suction pump
Inhalation: Contraction of diaphragm
Exhalation: Relaxation of diaphragm
NEGATIVE-PRESSURE BREATHING
Pressure is generated within the lungs
to propel into the lings
Air flow is BIDIRECTIONAL

thoracic wall ( parietal pleura ( interparietal space/ fluid

or parietal cavity ( visceral pleura

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