Last week during science class... we dissected a frog! Monday we learned about what we should look for while dissecting. The things we need to look for were the systems and its organs. The next few days we got to go hands on. We used certain tools to open the the frog by cutting up the middle and between the arms and legs. You needed to be gentle yet firm to cut through the epithelial tissue and muscle. Once you open the flaps and pin them down, you will see if the frog is male or female. The females contain eggs and oviducts while the males contain testis. Once any unnecessary parts inside the frogs are cleared from the body so the main organs are visible such as fat bodies... we identify the organs. The first thing I saw was the liver because it is the largest organ in the frog and is composed of three parts or lobes. Covering the organs are the peritoneum which is a spider like membrane that covers most organs. At the top of the liver their is a triangular organ called the heart. Under the heart are two raisin looking organs called lungs. Near the liver is a green sac which stores bile. This organ is the gall bladder. An organ curving underneath the liver is the stomach which is the first major site of chemical digestions. I learned that frogs swallow their meals whole which after it goes through the stomach it goes to the next part of the digestive system. The small intestine as well as the large intestine just like the human body and exits the same way. The last few organs we were instructed to look for are the spleen and esophagus. The spleen is a dark red spherical object that is the holding area for blood. You would think it was gross... but your wrong!
At the beginning of the dissection I did not think I would enjoy it. It was so cool and interesting. The odor once you walk into the room is overwhelming and scared me a little because I did not expect it... especially after lunch. Once we were given our tables and partners it was go time. We listened to the teachers instructions. Then we tied any hair back and placed our goggles on. We examined the OUTSIDE of our frog then proceeded to open the frog. We were gentle but not firm and only cut through the epithelial tissue so we had to cut a second time trough the muscle. I was in awe when I looked in and saw it was a girl. Our group decided to name the frog Lily. We loved looking at the organs and finding where to find them in the frog. At the end of the week my favorite part was opening some of the organs to see the different textures. I loved this dissection and can't wait to do more!
