A few notes: Snakes are long - it's in the blog title. But the implications of being long for the internal anatomy of an animal are not usually considered. For example, in humans and most other animals, paired organs, such as kidneys, lungs, and gonads, are found next to one another, across the body's plane of symmetry. This is not so in snakes; there simply isn't room. Add to their body shape the fact that a great deal of the body cavity must sometimes be filled with eggs or prey items, and there's little room left for the vital organs: heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, spleen and pancreas. That's why snakes have A) evolved elongate organs, B) evolved staggered paired organs, and C) lost some organs or members of paired organs.
Many snake organs are similar in shape to their overall body form. The liver, stomach, gonads, kidneys, and lung are all elongate. Those that come in pairs are either staggered, such as the kidneys and gonads (right always anterior to left), or asymmetrical, such as the lungs. See the tiny left lung near the heart? In a real snake it's almost impossible to find. It is a vestigial organ, meaning it does not function in breathing any more, although in some sea snakes it does have a co-opted function: it helps regulate buoyancy much like the swim bladder of a fish. These adaptations are part of what makes snakes so amazing and unique.
Finally, because 2013 has been designated the Year of the Snake by non-profit conservation group Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, I hope to help them promote snake research and snake conservation through frequent writing and outreach. As always, thanks for your comments and your readership. Life is Short but Snakes are Long received over 22,000 hits in 2012 and I'm looking forward to an even bigger 2013!
