An Apparent Embryological Malformation Involving the Small Intestine of a Chick

WHILE sacrificing chicks to supply tissues for an experiment, an abnormality of the small intestine was observed. The abnormality occurred in a 6-day-old White Leghorn male which was, to all outward appearances, normal. In removing the skin from the ventral surface of the body, a 4 cm. loop (8 cm. total length) of the lower part of the small intestine (ileum) with the yolk sac attached distally was observed protruding in an anterior direction from the posterior, midventral area of the body cavity (Figure 1). The exposed loop was not incarcerated. The tip of one cecum was visible. Parietal peritoneum appeared to have surrounded three-fourths of the exposed viscera. In 1947, Gregory and Greaves reported a case of intestinal herniation in the chick which involved the duodenum, pancreas, and a major portion of the ileum and ceca. The bird was 7 days old and had been brought in far a …