The rock dove (or common pigeon), Columba livia, is an important model organism in biological studies, including research focusing on head muscle anatomy, feeding kinematics, and cranial kinesis. However, no integrated computer-based biomechanical model of the pigeon head has yet been attempted. As an initial step towards achieving this goal, we present the first three-dimensional digital dissection of the pigeon head based on a contrast-enhanced computed tomographic dataset achieved using iodine potassium iodide as a staining agent. Our datasets enable us to visualize the skeletal and muscular anatomy, brain and cranial nerves, and major sense organs of the pigeon, including very small and fragile features, as well as maintaining the three-dimensional topology of anatomical structures. This work updates and supplements earlier anatomical work on this widely used laboratory organism. We resolve several key points of disagreement arising from previous descriptions of pigeon anatomy, including the precise arrangement of the external adductor muscles and their relationship to the posterior adductor. Examination of the eye muscles highlights differences between avian taxa and shows that pigeon eye muscles are more similar to those of a tinamou than they are to those of a house sparrow. Furthermore, we present our three-dimensional data as publicly accessible files for further research and education purposes. Digital dissection permits exceptional visualisation and will be a valuable resource for further investigations into the head anatomy of other bird species, as well as efforts to reconstruct soft tissues in fossil archosaurs.

中文翻译：

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使用对比增强计算机断层扫描技术对鸠鸽（Columba livia）头部进行数字解剖

鸽子（或普通鸽），哥伦巴利维亚（Columba livia）是生物学研究中的重要模型生物，包括专注于头部肌肉解剖，进食运动学和颅运动的研究。但是，尚未尝试过基于集成计算机的鸽子头生物力学模型。作为实现这一目标的第一步，我们基于使用碘化碘化钾作为染色剂获得的对比增强的计算机断层扫描数据集，介绍了鸽子头的第一个三维数字解剖。我们的数据集使我们能够可视化鸽子的骨骼和肌肉解剖结构，脑和颅神经以及主要感觉器官，包括非常小的和脆弱的特征，并保持解剖结构的三维拓扑结构。这项工作对这种广泛使用的实验室有机体的早期解剖工作进行了更新和补充。我们解决了先前对鸽子解剖结构的描述引起的一些分歧，包括外部内收肌的精确排列及其与后内收肌的关系。眼肌检查突出了鸟类分类群之间的差异，并表明鸽子眼肌与雀科的眼肌比麻雀的眼肌更相似。此外，我们将三维数据显示为可公开访问的文件，以用于进一步的研究和教育目的。数字解剖技术可以实现出色的可视化效果，将成为进一步研究其他鸟类物种头部解剖结构以及在化石考古学家中重建软组织的宝贵资源。