Originally posted September 27m, 2010

And digests it … and has pictures taken

September 27, 2010

There is something exciting about going to feeding time at the zoo. Watching animals – especially the carnivores – act on their carnal instincts is always thrilling. Also, being able to watch a bear gnaw on a thigh bone from 20 feet away, behind a protective barrier, across a protective moat, while leaning nonchalantly against a metal railing makes me feel daring, like I’m somehow cheating death! OKay … so, I’m a sissy.

But, there is something about that experience. One of my all-time favorite feeding times is at the reptile house. It is the rare person indeed who can resist watching a python being fed. Seeing a snake trap its prey, wrap it in its coils, squeeze it to death, and then, somehow, swallow the poor animal whole. Pretty gruesome. Pretty captivating. Even seeing python post-feeding, with the distended portion of its body body making room for its meal, was something I found perverse enjoyment in.

Open wide.

Some new images, that I think are totally cool, show a python digesting a rat from the inside. Using a combination of CT scanning and MRI, Danish researchers have been able to fully feed my depravity! Their research was looking at … Er, WHO CARES WHAT THE RESEARCH WAS FOR THESE IMAGES ARE SOOOOO COOOL. (They actually wanted to see how the pythons digestive system adapts in size and shape to the ingestion of its prey.)

How awesome is this? A python digesting a rat. Image credit: Henrik Lauridsen and Kasper Hansen, Aarhus University, Denmark.

The two imaging techniques were used because they are complementary. CT scans stitch together lots of 2-D Xray images into a fully formed 3-D image. As such they are perfect for looking at bone structure. MRI is great at visualizing soft tissues. It does this by using a magnetic field to align the hydrogen atoms of water molecules. Therefore, the combination of techniques lets you see bone structure and tissue structure in one composite image.

But, so what?! Just look at these other cool images!

Combined CT/MRI scan of an aligator.

-mrh