A Study of the Morphological Structure of the Syrinx of the Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)

摘要

Sparrowhawks are commonly used for quail hunting in northeastern Turkey. Despite it is importance in Turkey, there is a dearth of information concerning the anatomy of the syrinx in the sparrowhawk. The objective of this study was to assess the structure and morphological differences of the sparrowhawk's syrinx from those of other avian species. The syrinx, which is the main source for vocalization for birds is located on the caudal end of the trachea. To the best knowledge of the authors this is the first study of the syrinx of the Sparrowhawk. The syrinx of the sparrowhawk was found to be of the tracheobronchial type and consists of four tracheosyringeal cartilages cartilage and five bronchosyringeal cartilages. For the histological specimens, syrinx tissues were stained with Crossman modified triple stain for histological evaluation, Verhoeff's elastic fibers stain for elastic fiber density, and Alcian blue (pH: 2.5) and periodic acid Schiff (PAS) stain for mucopolysaccharide and neutral mucins, respectively. The pessulus of hyaline cartilage was found to be covered with pseudo-stratified epithelium. The medial labia and medial tympaniform membrane consisted of double-ply layers of epithelium, which consisted of collagen and elastic fiber layers. In addition, the bronchosyringeales muscle consisted of extrinsic muscles only. In conclusion, the results of this study may contribute to knowledge of morphologic and histologic structure and variations between bird species.