Morfologia e morfometria do encéfalo de avestruz (Struthio camelus)

Abstract

The African ostrich (Struthio camelus) is a ratite bird in the family Struthionidae. The anatomical features of the African ostrich brain were investigated in this study. Twenty adult ostrich heads (10 males and 10 females), fixed in 10% formaldehyde, were analyzed in this study. The measures of the brain were obtained: length and total width of the brain, length, width and height of the right and left cerebral hemispheres, length and width of the cerebellum, length and width of the right and left optical lobes. Results for each variable were expressed as mean and standard deviation. Through unpaired Student's t-test the variables were compared between sexes and between antimers when possible. Statistical significance was considered as P <0.05. The mean and standard deviation of male brain length and width were 5.57 ± 0.23 cm and 4.19 ± 0.16 respectively. In females the mean and standard deviation of brain length and width were 5.56 ± 0.23 and 4.18 ± 0.16 respectively. The cerebellum appears relatively well developed and protrudes dorsally. The surface of the ostrich brain is smooth without any gyrus or sulcus. The olfactory bulbs are very small. The optic lobe is an oval eminence located bilaterally in the ventral part of the midbrain and converging on the ventral midline. The average length of the skulls of males is greater than that of females.