#choanal papillae

[flock-talk]

Accidental choanal slit shot

[crows-before-bros]

Most people don't know that crows have what looks like a secondary mouth/jaw inside their mouth with teeth. This is known as the Choanal papillae. This is what connects their nostrils (hidden by their beak feathers) to their throat.

[ziggystarling]

Hey, what are choanal papillae for? Thanks!

So there isn't actually a ton of academic research about this!

The most recent academic mention of it I have seen is this paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41936-018-0026-6 which states "The anatomical information about the structure of the choana is lacking in literature, and its role in the olfactory and feeding mechanism is still unknown".

So in short, nobody really knows their function, but it is known that they are a good indication of the health of the bird. In starlings, sharp, spikey papillae indicated good diet and a healthy bird. Here's an article about it from an aviculture website: https://hari.ca/show-us-your-choanal-papillae/

[raptorsandpoultry]

Do you have any more info on choanal papillae? Specifically, pics of healthy vs unhealthy would be awesome! I haven't had any luck just googling it :/

Yes! (I am s l o w so for those of you who aren't familiar, this was in response to a post I reblogged many weeks back, so here's a quick little intro):

When avian veterinarians examine a bird's mouth, there is a slit-shaped opening in the roof of the mouth called a choana, and it connects the nasal and oral cavities. Mammals have one as well, but it's mainly in birds that this opening is narrow and slit-like, as opposed to wide and rounded. Bird choanae have small serrations on either side called choanal papillae, and blunting or shortening of these is a sign of vitamin A deficiency due to an improper diet. Not all species will have very obvious choanal papillae, however! For example, most pigeons have naturally short/barely visible choanal papillae, and that's completely normal.

Some healthy lookin pointy bois (Photo from Hagen Avicultural Research Institute)

Pointy bois have mostly disappeared in this birb, likely because they were fed too much seeb (Photo from avianmedicine.net)

Hope this helps, thanks for the ask (and for the long wait sdfkljalsfzkd)!

[casperhemlock]

Choanal papillae - the barbs in the back of their throat! Scary to look at, isn't it?

[mellifexfarm]

Choanal Papillae!

[woe-eroa]

Don’t Tread on Me — Prince Bush

Among cacti and scorching sun of struggle, Your tongue’s supple set of muscles, Papillae, slightly white matt springs Up from underneath—all this work To mumble the wrong thing—a rattlesnake, Courageous with venom, hisses. I skewer The choanal slit and glottis, my right- And left-wing distractions, poison Leaking down my Red-tailed-Hawk beak, Claws clutching the plate of the snake’s Small head; I snatched your license plate With my bare, black talons, as a matter of fact, I searched the whole parking lot after, still Peckish and piggish. The Red-tailed Hawk Has excellent eyesight, ergo I left with five Metal slabs of yellow rust—hunting so much With a raspy, screeching call to find more.

__________________

Prince Bush is a poet in Nashville, TN with poetry in Cincinnati Review, Cotton Xenomorph, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, Pleiades: Literature in Context, SOFTBLOW, and elsewhere. He was a 2019 Bucknell Seminar for Undergraduate Poets Fellow.

[myfeatheredflock]

Just wanted to give you guys an update on this sweet pea! She saw our vet yesterday and things are way better than I expected! She IS blind in her left eye and it is a bit swollen so they tested her eye pressure but it’s within the normal range. It also looks like she has cataracts developing in both eyes but it’s nothing to worry about yet. Her choanal papillae have deteriorated, probably due to a Vitamin A deficiency, so I’m hoping to get her to eat some kale, spinach, carrots, etc as well as transition her to pellets (she’s being quite stubborn about that). We did x-rays and it looks like there is a lump of scar tissue near her clavicle, likely due to a fall, and she’s got a bit of arthritis in her left shoulder. As for that bulge on her front, the x-ray looked normal so I’m just supposed to keep an eye on it, try to get a better look at it when it’s full and see if it’s air or food. Other than that, she’s doing great! I’m so happy nothing really serious is wrong with her 😊😊

[pawsnclawsmiami-blog]

Absence of Choanal papilla and presence of white plaques in the oral cavity of birds indicate a chronic and active infection with a multitude of germs like candida, trichomonads, chlamydia amknst others. A complete examination of a bird must include a throurogh physical as well as collection of specimens from such lessons, for cytological evaluation, culture, pcr etc. . . . . . . . #exoticvetmiami #exoticpetsvetmiami #birdvet #vetlife #vetsurgeon #petvetmiami #petdoc #dogtor #vetexpert #avianvetmiami #exoticvetmed #reptilevetmiami #exoticveterinarymedicine #exoticpetsofinstagram #exoticpetsofmiami #exoticsdvmmiami #exoticpetvetmiami #miami #pawsnclawsmiami #exoticpetvetmiami #avianandexoticsvetmiami #ahhaaccredittedhospital #Kendall #parrot #amazonparrot https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ14WMIjd2E/?utm_medium=tumblr

[flock-talk]

my various attempts at getting a shot of the inside of his mouth

[flock-talk]

Final report:

His choanal papillae (the spikes on the V shaped opening at the back of the throat) are blunted which is most likely the result of his seed based diet/ nutritional deficiency. They’re not severely blunted so she does think someone did have him on a decent diet for some years since they should otherwise be pretty blunt/short if he’d been on only seeds for 5 years. We’ll be checking them again at the next annual exam to ensure they’re not getting worse which would then be a sign of more serious problems but as of right now it’s not something to be concerned about, just aware of.

He is not necessarily overweight but he is lacking a lot of muscle mass so the most of his body structure is fats. Flying, pellets, and veggies should simply be enough to get him in to a better body condition. Again nothing outright dangerous for him, but something to work on. As she put it “he’s not overweight…. Pudgy…. Definitely pudgy”

The discolouration on the feathers is most likely due to weathering, overhandling, and the seed diet not forming durable feathers. Overall she says the feathers look pretty good. Not concerned about organ damage but again keeping an eye on new growth to ensure there’s nothing hiding.

His fecal sample came back clear of all common parasites and pathogens, no gram negative bacteria at all. He did have an overall lack of bacteria though so he has been prescribed a probiotic to help his gut out a bit.

His feet are looking pretty good, she noted a bit of tenderness still there and some very small calluses/ sores remaining in the centre of his foot. I showed her the pictures of how they looked before and since they have shown massive improvement with just the perch change we’re going to leave it at that. He was climbing all over the carrier bars and showing a lot more dexterity at the vet so she’s confident they’ll return to good health over time without the need for extra medications.

Opted not to do a blood draw for a couple of reasons. Main one being that he was already very stressed, he did one lap around the room and was panting (he’s capable of flying two to three laps around the top floor of the whole house before panting regularly) which would put him at risk of shock during a blood draw. He was starting to get a bit wriggly which would make it even harder for her to get the blood quickly, and he’s been quarantined for 30 days already with not even the slightest concerning symptom. We both felt it was safer not to risk it today, we’ll be working more on handling comfort and vet skills so he will hopefully be less stressed and capable of taking a blood draw at his annual exam instead.

Vent and preen gland look great

Heart and lungs sound good, she did agree that he’s way dustier than he should be but thankfully the candles/incense he was around haven’t done any noticeable damage to him that she can hear. Needs a proper bath!!!!!!!!!

He has been given the all clear and is safe to begin introductions with Newt!

[flock-talk]

Some choanal papillae for you