Faculty of Veterinary Science
Department of Veterinary Anatomy and Physiology
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
Research on the upper digestive tract of the emu has proved to be an interesting field and has contributed valuable information to the body of avian biology, especially with regards to the ratite family. Articles on the surface morphology of the emu tongue, gross morphology of the emy upper digestive tract and the structure, distribution and classification of salivary glands in the emu upper digestive tract were published in international journals (Anatomia Histologia Embryologia and Acta Zoologica: Stockholm) and have received interest from international researchers. For the first time the complexity of a ratite tongue, previously thought to be rudimentary, was revealed and together with articles on the morphology of the emu tongue, it was established that this organ in the emu fulfils a number of functions including the possibility of taste. This information has formed the platform for a comparative study in ratites which aims to map and detail the function of specialisations within the upper digestive tract of the emu and ostrich, both commercially important birds in South Africa. The immune defenses of the emu upper digestive tract underwent a preliminary investigation and the resultant presentation at the 48th Annual Conference of the Microscopy Society of Southern Africa (MSSA) achieved the Wirsam Light Microscopy Prize for Best Presentation.
Contact person: Dr MR Crole.
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