CONNECTING STRUCTURES OF THE LIVER OF THE BABA (Caiman crocodilus crocodilus)

Baba (Caiman crocodilus crocodilus) is the reptile with the widest geographic distribution in America ranging from southern Mexico to Brazil. In Venezuela, it is located across the Orinoco River basin and there are greater population densities in the flooding plains of Apure, Barinas, Cojedes, Guarico, and Portuguesa States. However, morphological studies on this species of wildlife have not been widely conducted. Accordingly, the main objective of this research was to describe the connecting structures of the liver of this species. An exploratory study of liver anatomy on eleven females and four males collected in Guarico and Aragua States was performed. The animals were anesthetized and their abdominal cavity reached in order to locate the liver and thus to identify and describe its connecting structures. The main findings in this work consisted in verifying that the ends of the diaphragm muscle are inserted into the parietal surface of each lobe of the liver, giving rise to the hepatopericardic ligament, the observation of a fold peritoneum that corresponds to the lesser omentum, and of the right and left triangular ligaments.