Pigeon Dissection

Students dissect a pigeon to examine avian adaptations for flight and respiration. The activity progresses from external features to major internal systems, including flight muscles, air sacs, digestive tract, circulatory pathways, cranial nerves, and the urinogenital system.

• Follow instructions provided in the links below.

Pigeon Dissection - UofRFacultyofScience:

Pigeon Dissection; Feathers, Muscles & Skeleton Revealed - Museum Beetles:

📄 Dissection of Pigeon (With Diagram) | Zoology - Biology Discussion: https://www.biologydiscussion.com/zoology/pigeon/dissection-of-pigeon-with-diagram-zoology/45131

• Compare pigeon anatomy with a domestic chicken to highlight flight vs. limited-flight adaptations.
• Map airflow through lungs and air sacs using gentle inflation to visualize sac boundaries.
• Focused study: trace only the hepatic portal circulation or only the brachial/subclavian supply to wings.
• Replace wet dissection with a virtual or plastinated specimen session when specimens are not available.

• Wear gloves, safety goggles, and a lab coat; tie back hair and avoid loose clothing.
• Use scissors for most cuts; if using a scalpel, cut away from hands and partners.
• Handle the sternum and ribs carefully to avoid sharp bone edges.
• Do not over-inflate air sacs; apply only minimal pressure to prevent aerosolization or tissue rupture.
• Treat all tissues and fluids as biohazard; follow local disposal rules and teacher instructions.
• Wash hands thoroughly and disinfect benches and instruments after the lab.
• Use ethically sourced or preserved specimens; do not perform euthanasia in class.

• How do the pectoralis major and supracoracoideus collaborate to power flight? (Major depresses the wing; supracoracoideus elevates it via a tendon through the foramen triosseum.)
• Why do birds have extensive air sacs in addition to lungs? (They enable unidirectional airflow and act as bellows to improve gas exchange and reduce body mass.)
• What is the functional difference between the proventriculus and the gizzard? (Proventriculus secretes digestive juices; gizzard mechanically grinds food.)
• Birds often lack a gallbladder. How, then, does bile reach the intestine? (Liver ducts drain directly into the duodenum.)
• What evidence of high metabolic demand can you see in avian circulation? (Large, muscular left ventricle; separate pulmonary and systemic circuits; robust carotid and subclavian branches.)
• How does the crop benefit granivorous birds like pigeons? (It stores and softens food before chemical and mechanical digestion.)
• Which cranial nerve primarily innervates the heart, lungs, and foregut in birds? (The vagus.)