Anatomical Study of the Scleral Ring and Scleral Ossicles of the Ostrich ( <i>Struthio camelus</i> ) With Gross Anatomical Methods and Diagnostic Imaging Techniques

The ostrich is a type of flightless bird native to Africa and a scavenger, belonging to the Struthionidae family. The eyeball in birds has more unique features. One of these features is the presence of a scleral ring. The intrascleral bones that surround the eye are in the form of a group of bones with different shapes, which form the scleral ring. It helps the eyeball against trauma. The head of 5 adult male ostriches was examined in this study. According to the results, the scleral ring in <i>Struthio camelus</i> has anterior and posterior parts and the lens is in the immediate vicinity of the anterior part. The right and left scleral rings and eyeballs are bilaterally symmetrical in terms of the shape and size but the number of ossicles can be different. This structure consisted of 15-17 ossicles and all the rings are Type A. The shape of the scleral ring and its constituent parts is one of the characteristics used for the classification of animals.