The influence of the post-pulmonary septum on the ventilatory Mechanics of Trachemys scripta Thunberg in Schoepff, 1792 (Cryptodira: Emydidae)

• Grant number: 20/01289-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2020
• End date: December 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - Compared Physiology
• Principal Investigator: Wilfried Klein
• Grantee: Ray Brasil Bueno de Souza
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Reptiles are the group showing the greatest diversity in the respiratory system. This great morphological diversity is reflected in their mechanical characteristics, so that not only the pattern of compartmentalization, but the type and distribution of the parenchyma influence lung compliance. In general, reptiles have a very compliant lung, and the greatest mechanical resistance resides in the body walls. Among reptiles, turtles have a more rigid wall, due to the presence of a shell, and possess a post-pulmonary septum. Turtles also show a post-pulmonary septum that isolates, but still connects the lung with the other viscera, facilitating the transmission of movement. The influence of the post-pulmonary septum on the mechanics of the turtle respiratory system has never been studied until now. Through the analysis of static and dynamic ventilatory mechanics in intact animals, in animals with the respiratory system exposed with and without the post-pulmonary septum, it will be possible to quantify the influence of the post-pulmonary septum on the compliance and ventilatory mechanics of turtles. Thus, the present project aims to analyze the ventilatory mechanics of turtles of the species Trachemys scripta, giving greater importance to the influence of the post-pulmonary septum on the mechanics of this species, contributing with unprecedented data to a poorly explored area of reptilian respiratory physiology.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BUENO DE SOUZA, RAY BRASIL; KLEIN, WILFRIED. The influence of the post-pulmonary septum and submersion on the pulmonary mechanics of Trachemys scripta (Cryptodira: Emydidae). Journal of Experimental Biology, v. 224, n. 12, JUN 2021. (20/01289-8)