Turtles are popular pets with an interesting appearance and unpretentious. They are so different from other animals that some owners sometimes wonder how their pets breathe.
Instructions
Step 1
In terms of the structure of the respiratory system, turtles are not too different from other animals. They have well-developed lungs with which they breathe in and out air, but turtles do not have a ribcage. They breathe not due to the convergence and divergence of the ribs, since this is prevented by the shell, but using the bundles of muscles that go to the plastron from the shoulder and pelvic girdles, as well as the dorsal-ventral muscles, which are located along the edge of the shell. The movement of these muscles leads to a change in the volume of the body cavity - a decrease or increase and, therefore, to a change in the volume of the lungs, as a result of which inhalation or exhalation occurs.
Step 2
At the front end of the turtle's head, there are external nostrils, with the help of which it inhales air. Then it enters the oral cavity, where the internal choanal nostrils, adjacent to the laryngeal slit, have an outlet. Air enters the trachea, then the bronchi, and from there into the lungs.
Step 3
Turtles do not have gills, so they cannot breathe oxygen dissolved in water. Both aquatic and land animals need air for normal life. But the breathing of turtles is by no means as intense as that of humans. During the period of activity, the land turtle takes only 4-6 breaths per minute. Watery and even less often, it can float to the surface to take a breath of air only once every twenty minutes. During hibernation, when the metabolism of animals slows down, their need for oxygen decreases markedly.
Step 4
Over the course of evolution, the turtles have received some very original adaptations to facilitate the process of breathing. For example, soft-bodied turtles not only breathe with the help of their lungs, but are also able to absorb some of the oxygen through the skin. And in freshwater turtles, part of the gas exchange occurs in the anal sacs that open into the cloaca.
