Wink Carole S, Elsey Ruth M, Hill Elizabeth M
Department of Anatomy, Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112.
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Grand Chenier, Louisiana 70643.
J Morphol. 1987 Sep;193(3):317-321. doi: 10.1002/jmor.1051930309.
To help understand the nature of skeletal changes during the reproductive cycle of the female alligator, we compared femoral robusticity (density) and porosity of cross-sections from the midshafts of femora from the following groups of female alligators: (1) immature; (2) pre-ovulatory; (3) postovulatory with soft-shelled oviducal eggs; (4) post-ovulatory with hard-shelled oviducal eggs; (5) post-ovulatory with eggs in the nest; (6) post-ovulatory with hatched eggs; and (7) mature, quiescent. Femora from alligators with eggs in the nest were significantly less robust (dense) than those of the other groups except those with hard-shelled oviducal eggs. Cross sections from the midshaft of femora from alligators with eggs in the nest were significantly more porous than those from all the other groups. The results indicated that calcium was mobilized from the femoral shaft shortly before eggs were laid and that femoral density returned to normal levels for mature alligators 1-2 months after egg-laying.
为了帮助理解雌性短吻鳄生殖周期中骨骼变化的本质，我们比较了以下几组雌性短吻鳄股骨中段横截面的股骨粗壮度（密度）和孔隙率：（1）未成熟的；（2）排卵前的；（3）排卵后带有软壳输卵管卵的；（4）排卵后带有硬壳输卵管卵的；（5）排卵后巢中有卵的；（6）排卵后卵已孵化的；以及（7）成熟、静止期的。巢中有卵的短吻鳄的股骨比其他组（除了带有硬壳输卵管卵的组）的股骨明显更不粗壮（密度更低）。巢中有卵的短吻鳄股骨中段的横截面比所有其他组的横截面孔隙率明显更高。结果表明，钙在产卵前不久从股骨干中动员出来，并且产卵后1 - 2个月，成熟短吻鳄的股骨密度恢复到正常水平。
