COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF THE LIVER OF WILD FUR ANIMALS: EUROPEAN BADGER (MELES MELES, L), RIVER OTTER (LUTRA LUTRA, L) AND ORDINARY FOX (VULPES VULPES, L)

Abstract

Fur production is the most valuable field of animal husbandry in the Russian Federation. Domestication, containment, changes in behavior and diet of fur animals have contributed to both exterior and interior changes in their biology. The biggest interior changes have occurred in the volume and functionality of the digestive system, especially liver. European badger’s (Meles meles) liver mass was determined to be 324-389 g making up 3,20-3,44% of the total body mass. River otter (Lutra lutra) has 489,0-500,0 g and 5,1-5,8%, and ordinary fox (Vulpes vulpes) has 183-195g and 3,4-3,9% accordingly. The sharp end of the badger liver peeks out of the lower end of the ribcage, while the otter liver is perpendicular to the ribcage. Badger liver is yellowish-brown, otter liver is cherry-brown, fox liver is brown. All of them are separated by deep grooves to differently sized parts; badger and otter livers have 7 parts, and fox liver lacks the nipple-like protrusion. The gallbladder is located between the square and left medial parts of the liver; the badger’s is pear-shaped and is easily visible from the diaphragmatic and visceral surfaces of the liver; otter’s is elongated and rounded and has a wrinkle, fox’s is pear-shaped. The contents of the gallbladders of badgers and otters is greenish brown, with badger’s contents having pH of 7,2-7,6 pts., otter’s - 6,5-6,8 pts., while fox’s is brown with pH of 6,0-6,2 pts. That way, different diets and habitats form the visual changes in topography and macro morphology of livers not only in members of different biological families, but different species as well.