How do snakes breath?
The trachea in reptiles is similar to that of higher vertebrates, with well-developed hyaline rings. However, there is no mucociliary transport mechanism to aid the removal of foreign substances from the respiratory tract. Furthermore, the absence of a diaphragm prevents the animal from coughing. The lungs are similar to the avian-type system with a series of reticulated open-ended sacs and many capillaries in close proximity. The cranial part of the reptile lung is the gaseous exchange portion, while the caudal part functions as an air sac. The latter may act as a reserve of air during periods of apnoea. Alveolar macrophages are present in the reptilian lung, but may display poor bacterial removal if the animal is being kept below its optimal temperature. In snakes, the right lung is larger than the left, and generally stretches from the heart to the kidney. It may extend even further down to the cloaca in some aquatic snakes. Some snakes have a tracheal lung on the dorsal aspect of t
