Anatomical analysis of syrinx in chickens, ducks and quails

An abstract of the research paper was presented to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University Malaysia Kelantan, in partial requirement for the course DVT 55204- Research project. Birds are an excellent model for researching the phonation process. Syrinx is the vocal organ of the birds. In Malaysia different bird breeds including Gallus gallus domesticus, Cairina moschata and Cortunix japonica have limited documentation on syrinx anatomical characteristics. There is a lack of insight and knowledge about the topographical position and anatomical features of the syrinx in these avian species The main goal of this study is to investigate the topographical and morphological characteristics of the syrinx in different avian species. In this study three adult broiler chickens, three broiler ducks and three broiler quails of mixed sexes were examined. The study revealed that the syrinx is tracheobronchial type,
composed of tympanum, tracheosyringeal and bronchosyringeal groups. Additionally, there is lateral and medial tympaniform membranes, pessulus and interbronchial ligament (brachidesm) at the tracheal bifurcation. The Syrinx also consists of extrinsic muscle such as tracheolateralis and sternotrachealis muscle. Data was subjected to Kruskal-Wallis Test followed by Mann-Whitney. The result inferred that there is significant difference in the measurement of the tracheolateralis and sternotrachealis muscle length in different species of birds, where ducks and chickens have longer muscles compared to quails. The current study presented detailed gross morphological characteristics of syrinx of chickens, ducks and quails.The findings of this study will aid in knowledge on the evolution of syrinx of different birds which will add input in the field of veterinary anatomy.
Keywords: Syrinx, tracheobronchial, tympanum, phonation.