Macroscopic anatomy of the lower respiratory tract of the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica)

ABSTRACT

The present study describes the macroscopic anatomy of the lower respiratory tract of the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica). The trachea consists aproximately 25 c-shaped tracheal cartilages and extends from the larynx to its bifurcation into right and left principal bronchi. The right lung is divided into cranial, middle, caudal and accessory lobes by interlobar fissures. The left lung consists of cranial and caudal lobes which are not divided by an interlobar fissure. Lung lobation was verified from tracheobronchial casts.