Reconstructing the evolution of the respiratory apparatus in tetrapods

The structural type of a lung for animals that are derived from a single ancestral group can be characterized using extant phylogenetic bracketing. Functional morphological approximation can then be used to provide further information on the functional attributes. Combining information from diverse sources, plausible explanations are deduced for the respiratory apparatus of extinct species. The air-breathing apparatus of tetrapods has its origin in gill breathing. The lungs of the first tetrapods were probably long and consisted of a single series of parenchyma-filled chambers, arranged along an intrapulmonary duct. The duct gave rise to a broad central lumen in anurans. In amniotes a cartilaginous reinforcement evolved. The septate nature of the gas-exchange tissue (parenchyma) is recognizable in all tetrapods except birds. Active expiration began with the origin of transverse body wall musculature in amphibians, whereas active, negative-pressure inspiration is seen only in amniotes. The functional transition of trunk musculature from locomotor to respiratory is most complete in birds.