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Feather - Anatomy & Physiology (view source)
Revision as of 08:33, 14 July 2008
, 08:33, 14 July 2008no edit summary
The portions of the feather can be decribed as follows:
The portions of the feather can be decribed as follows:
*'''Calamus''': The short, hollow, tubular, unpigmented end of the mature feather inserted into the feather follicle and thus present below the skin level.
*'''Calamus''': The short, hollow, tubular, unpigmented end of the mature feather inserted into the feather follicle and thus present below the skin level.
*'''Rachis''': The long solid, tubular extension of the calamus above the skin. The rachis contains pith, which is composed of air-filled keratinised epithelial cells surrounded by a solid keratinised outer cortex.
*'''Shaft''': The combination of the rachis and the calamus.
*'''Vane or Vexillum''': The portion of the feather that extends to either side of the rachis and is composed of the barbs and their associated structures. The vane is either '''plumulaceous''' (soft and downy) or '''pennaceous''' (compact and closely knit) depending on the individual type of feather.