Mammals and birds are both characterized by a 4 chambered heart. This heart allows the complete separation of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood streams. Less publicized, but equally as important, this separation also allows for a pressure differential to exist between the two ventricular chambers. That way the right – pulmonary side – of the heart can pump deoxygenated blood at low pressure to the delicate walls of the alveoli in the lungs, while the left – systemic side – of the heart, can pump oxygenated blood at much higher pressure (~7 times higher) to the entire body.
Reptiles and amphibians differ from mammals and birds, in that they have a heart divided into 3 chambers (two atria, one ventricle). This allows for mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood, which reduces aerobic efficiency.
Please note the qualifier: aerobic.
Now, as is often the case with herps, this is a rather broad generalization. The hearts of all reptiles, show various degrees of ventricular separation. Also, for all extant reptiles, there are physiological/haemodynamic mechanisms in place that reduce the amount of blood mixing. Meanwhile, some lizards (e.g. varanids), and snakes (e.g. pythons) have such a large muscular septum near the middle of their ventricle, that it actually completely separates the ventricle during the contractile phase (ventricular systole). Thus making varanids and various snakes, functionally four chambered. These reptiles are capable of producing pressures on their systemic side, that are 7 times higher than the pressures in their pulmonary side. In other words, their functional four chambered hearts allow for pressure differentials that are on par with mammals.
Then there are the crocodylians. Crocs have the most complicated heart of any vertebrate. They are the only reptiles that have evolved a complete seperation of their ventricles. They are anatomically four chambered. Yet, they also retain the ability to mix their oxygenated and deoxygenated blood supplies. This is accomplished through a small connection between the right and left aortic arches (which come out of each respective ventricle). This connection is referred to as the foramen of Panizza. Making things more interesting still, croc hearts also feature a cog toothed valve that can completely block the flow of blood to the lungs, thus turning their hearts into a double pump systemic circuit.
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So now we know the how it works, the question we want answered next is: why did it evolve in the first place? The classic “orthodox” explanation has been that all of these traits evolved to allow formerly land dwelling crocodyliformes stay underwater for long periods of time. A four chambered heart is great for aerobic endurance, but pretty darn useless for an animal that spends most of its time holding its breath. In that arena, a three chambered heart is a more efficient system. By mixing oxygenated and deoxygenated blood together, crocodylians and other reptiles are able to siphon as much oxygen as possible from their blood, and thus stay underwater longer.
As I said, that was the old explanation. Now there is a new one:
Farmer, C.G., Uriona, T.J., Olsen, D.B., Steenblick, M., Sanders, K. The Right-to-left Shunt of Crocodilians Serves Digestion. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. Vol. 81(2): 125-137. doi: 10.1086/524150
Farmer et al studied several groups of juvenile American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). Each group underwent surgeries of various sorts to measure, and/or block the right to left shunt. The working hypothesis was that crocodylians use their right to left shunt, to serve digestion, by providing a greater reservoir of hydrogen ions (left over from the retention of CO2) for stomach acid secretion. It was suspected that if this was true, then one should see a greater degree of right to left shunting in animals that have just eaten.
So what did they find?
Well, for one, they found that juvenile alligators have a preferred postprandial body temperature of ~30?C, and will maintain that temperature to within .03?C. That’s a degree of temperature control worthy of any mammal, or bird.
Another thing they learned was that alligators that were allowed to stay at that temperature, were a real bugger to keep under control. So they had to drop the temp down 3 degrees, to 27?C instead.
Farmer et al learned that gastric acid secretion is temperature sensitive. Alligators produced greater quantities of gastric acid at 27?C, than at 19?C.
Oh yeah, they also learned that crocodylians produced a tonne of acid. At maximum secretion, acid production was an order of magnitude greater than that measured in any mammal, or bird. For those keeping tally at home; that’s 10 times greater.
The authours final observations warrant some thoughts.
That the left aorta, which arises from the right – pulmonary – ventricle, is the main blood delivery route for the digestive system. During right to left shunting, oxygenated blood from the left ventricle, gets shoved to the left aorta, and down to the digestive system. That this coincides with increased gastric acid secretion is telling, and strongly suggestive as to the role of the R-L shunt.
Yet R-L shunting also occurs during dives, and this is still the best explanation for the cog toothed valve. If the crocodylian heart really was specifically developed to increase digestion, then why block the path to the lungs at all? This study shows that the gastrointestinal system benefits from increased oxygen to these tissues. So why block the lungs, if one is trying to keep them oxygenated. Unfortunately the paper doesn’t really mention whether, or not the cog toothed valve was activated during this process. Personally, I don’t remember reading any case of the R-L shunt being used in crocs, without incorporating the cog tooth valve, so…
I felt that the authours put too much emphasis on endothermy vs. ectothermy. Their final observations involved a blanket statement regarding the R-L shunt in all reptiles. As I mentioned above, crocodylians are unique in their cardiovascular anatomy and physiology. They are also renowned for their very acidic stomach acid. It would seem more parsimonious to say that the R-L shunt in crocodylians, plays a large role in gastric acid secretion for these animals only; and wait for subsequent studies in other reptiles before saying this is true for the whole class.
Okay, so maybe their acid isn’t quite this strong, but you get the point.
Either way, the study was interesting. I just think that the authours took their final results a little too far.
~ Jura
