23/20 | General Article | House Swift

Gross Anatomical Studies on the Sternum of House Swift (Apus affinis)

Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Madras Veterinary College, Chennai-600 007, TANUVAS, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

The sternum of house swift (Apus affinis) was comprised of sternal spine, corpus sterni and sternal crest. The sternal spine was very short (< 2mm) and thick, and arose from the middle of the cranial border. The corpus sterni was quadrilateral in shape and 1.9 cm long. The dorsal surface of the sternum was deeply concave and narrow in the cranial half, broad and less concave in the caudal half. A groove was present in the centre of the dorsal surface, and it contained a large pneumatic foramen at the beginning. The foramen ovale or the incisura ovalis was absent. The craniolateral angle showed the 0.3 cm long craniolateral processes. The lateral borders showed five articular cylinders for the ventral ends of sternal ribs. The caudolateral processes and the thoracic processes were absent. The caudal border was convex, wide (1.3 cm) and did not show incisure. The sternal crest was very prominent.

Main Article