Peek into the glowing microvascular system of a pigeon's head. This striking image comes from an x-ray, and makes the pigeon look like a creature that has crawled out from the depths of the underworld. It would make a great album cover for a punk band.
The pigeon ingested a substance before the x-ray was taken that made all of its intricate blood vessels stand. Without the use of this special contrast agent, these blood vessels would blend in with the rest of the pigeon's head.
From The Wellcome Collection:
All animals possess unique anatomic variations that help them adapt to their environment. The Grey Parrot Anatomy Project has been established in part to improve upon and create technology that allows the world to study anatomy of any animal. By understanding what is normal, we are better positioned to identify and ultimately treat the abnormal. Discoveries made through the project have already been used on a large variety of animals including humans. BriteVu®, a novel contrast agent developed out of the project allows researchers to see vasculature (with the aid of a CT scan) down to the capillary level. In this pigeon perfused with BriteVu, the collar plexus of the neck subcutaneous veins is just visible at the bottom of the picture. This vascular plexus helps the pigeon thermoregulate by having an extensive blood supply close to the skin.
See also: Striking video: Lightning bolt zaps eagle nest to smithereens (the birds survive)
