The Artificial Anus in the Bird

Abstract

IN BIRDS, studies on separately voided urine and feces are best carried out by means of an artificial anus. Although feces-free urine can be collected in the bird by catheterization, and urine-free feces by ligation of the ureters, such techniques induce abnormal changes in the animal, and are not suitable for more than acute experiments. With the artificial anus, however, a nearly normal animal is obtained. The cloaca serves as a urinary bladder and still functions to resorb water. The distal end of the rectum is brought through the body wall and everted on itself to serve as an anal opening. Separate or simultaneous urine and feces collections can be made on the same animal. Although the usefulness of such a physiological preparation is obvious, there are very few references to it in the literature. In addition, the ones that do exist give no hint in their titles that they . . .