DISSECTION

OF A FROG
 TOOLS
 PROCESS
 ANATOMY OF A FROG

Prepared by:

HD9 GROUP 2
Fere-ira Mercurio Redoma
Festijo Montero Ruiz
Germino Morente Sayco
Golpe, H Nefiel Verceles
Golpe, J Odulio Vergara
Lauzon Panahon Villapando
Lunar Peralta Virgo
Mainit Popera

Submitted to:
Mr. Jhamson Sarsale
Instructor (Natsci02)
What Are Dissections?

Anatomy is one of the oldest branches of science. Since ancient Egypt, humans have been
dissecting their deceased to understand how the human body works and what happens during
the pathology of disease. Today, dissections, or the act of cutting open dead organisms to study
their parts, still play a role in science and medicine.

Dissections allow us to see the working parts of the body. They can help us understand the
structure of our organs and how they relate to their function. When studying anatomy, one of the
most important aspects is to actually see the inside of organisms. Many students dissect a frog,
cat or pig during this part of their unit on anatomy, but students can also dissect plants or fungi.

1. Safety Equipment

Before we can actually use any tools in a dissection, we need to take some precautions.
Dissection specimens are usually preserved in a toxic chemical called formaldehyde, which can
cause cancer. In addition, dead organisms, even if they are preserved, can carry disease.
Always wear gloves, a lab coat and goggles when dissecting any organism.

2. Dissection Tray

Just as you protect your body, you need to protect

the space you're working in, too. All dissections should be
done in a dissection tray. The dissection tray has a metal
bottom filled with a plastic insert. The plastic insert is thick
and somewhat soft to provide support for pinning the
specimen in place. Most plastic inserts can be removed to
thoroughly clean the tray when you're finished.

3. Scalpel

Once it's time to open up your rat, you're going to need a scalpel. Scalpels are
small razor blades attached to a metal or plastic handle. They are useful when
you need to make an incision into a sealed part of the body, for example the
initial cut into the skin of the rat. When first opening up the chest cavity, a
scalpel can be very helpful for cutting through the skin and muscle.
4. Scissors

After there is an initial incision, you can use dissection

scissors to cut open the muscle and expose the internal organs.
Scissors are also helpful when removing internal organs. In order
to see organs in the back of the rat, such as the kidneys, the
intestines will need to be removed. A few snips from the scissors
can cut connective tissue and allow you to set the intestines
aside to examine other structures in the back of the abdominal
cavity.

For small animals, such as a rat, scissors can also be used to cut open bone. In order to
examine the brain, the skull needs to be cut open. Scissors act like a saw for the thin bone of a
rat and easily expose the brain below.

5. Forceps

While cutting with the scalpel and scissors, you're going to

want to grab small pieces of tissue or organs. Using our gloved hands
to handle such small organs in the rat would be clumsy and unhelpful.
Forceps are like larger tweezers and can be used as a set of hands
during the dissection. Forceps can be used to pull back tissue,
remove organs and hold parts of the body in place.

6. Needle

A needle is a fine-pointed tool that can be used to

hold the specimen in place as you dissect and study the
internal structures. With a sharp point, it can also be used to
tease apart tissue and pull back organs. The needle can
double as a pointer when trying to point out structures to
your classmates as well.
Procedures:

1. Put on safety goggles, gloves, and a lab apron.

2. Place a frog on a dissection tray. To determine the frog’s sex, look at the hand
digits, or fingers, on its forelegs. A male frog usually has thick pads on its
"thumbs,” which is one external difference between the sexes, as shown in the
diagram below. Male frogs are also usually smaller than female frogs. Observe
several frogs to see the difference between males and females.

3. Use the diagram below to locate and identify the external features of the head.
Find the mouth, external nares, tympani, eyes, and nictitating membranes.

4. Turn the frog on its back and pin down the legs. Cut the hinges of the mouth and
open it wide. Use the diagram below to locate and identify the structures inside
the mouth. Use a probe to help find each part: the vomerine teeth, the maxillary
teeth, the internal nares, the tongue, and the openings to the Eustachian
tubes, the esophagus, the pharynx, and the slit-like glottis.

5. Look for the opening to the frog’s cloaca, located between the hind legs. Use
forceps to lift the skin and use scissors to cut along the center of the body from
the cloaca to the lip. Turn back the skin, cut toward the side at each leg, and
pin the skin flat. The diagram above shows how to make these cuts
6. Lift and cut through the muscles and breast bone to open up the body cavity. If
your frog is a female, the abdominal cavity may be filled with dark-colored
eggs. If so, remove the eggs on one side so you can see the organs underlying
them.
7. Use the diagram below to locate and identify the organs of the digestive
system: esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, cloaca,
liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.

8. Again refer to the diagram to identify the parts of the circulatory and respiratory
systems that are in the chest cavity. Find the left atrium, right atrium, and
ventricle of the heart. Find an artery attached to the heart and another artery
near the backbone. Find a vein near one of the shoulders. Find the two lungs.
9. Use a probe and scissors to lift and remove the intestines and liver. Use the
diagram on the next page to identify the parts of the urinary and reproductive
systems. Remove the peritoneal membrane, which is connective tissue that
lies on top of the red kidneys. Observe the yellow fat bodies that are attached
to the kidneys. Find the ureters; the urinary bladder; the testes and sperm
ducts in the male; and the ovaries, oviducts, and uteri in the female.
 10. Dispose of your materials according to the directions from your teacher.
11. Clean up your work area and wash your hands before leaving the lab.

BODY PARTS OF THE FROG

AND IT’S FUNCTIONS
Outer Body Parts
Head and Mouth
Frogs possess two nares, or nostrils, two tympani, or eardrums, and two eyes.
The eyes each have three eyelids: one of which is invisible. This third eyelid, also called
a nictitating membrane, protects the frog's eyes when it is swimming underwater and
helps keep the eyes moist when the frog is on land. Inside the frog's mouth are four
distinct teeth that help the frog catch and swallow prey.

Functions of the body parts that make up the

frog’s head
 External nares or nostrils - Anterior openings for
the entry or exit of air.
 Esophagus - Tube that connects the mouth and the
stomach in a frog.
 Tympanic Membrane - The eardrum – receives
sound waves
 Glottis - The opening from the mouth into the
respiratory system
 Tongue - Muscular structure attached to the front of
the mouth which is extended to catch insects (its
food).
 Maxillary Teeth - Sharp teeth in the maxilla of a
frogs mouth that function in holding captured prey.
 Vomerine Teeth - Small projections in the top of a
frog’s mouth that function in holding and captured
prey.
 Eustachian tube openings - Openings in the mouth that lead to tubes that connect to
the middle ear to equalize air pressure
 Nictitating Membrane - A transparent part of a frog’s lower eyelid that moves over the
eye to clean it and protect it.
 Cloacal Opening - Opening of cloaca through which undigested food, urine, eggs, and
sperm are passed.
 Vocal Sacs - The vocal sac is the flexible membrane of skin possessed by most male
frogs. The purpose of the vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their mating or
advertisement

Legs and Feet

Frogs have five toes on each webbed hind leg, and four toes on the front legs,
which lack webs. During the metamorphosis from tadpole to adult frog, the back legs
develop prior to the front legs. This is partly because the frog begins its life in water, and
webbed hind feet are more immediately beneficial.

Skin
Frog skin is permeable, which means that it can absorb water. Because of this,
most frogs don't drink water through their mouths.

The frog's skin comes in many different colors and patterns. Most frogs use their
skin pattern as a form of camouflage, while other frogs, such as the poison dart frog,
have brightly colored skin that warns predators away. Most frogs shed their skin as they
grow, eating it to consume additional nutrients.

Inner Body Parts

Skeleton and Muscles
The skeletal structure of the frog consists of a framework of bones and joints to
which the frog's voluntary muscles are attached. These muscles are divided into flexors
and extensors: When a flexor muscle contracts that body part bends. When an extensor
muscle contracts, the attached body part fully straightens. The combination of flexors
and extensors gives the frog its ability to kick, jump, and swim.

Organs
Frogs possess a liver, heart, lungs, stomach, gall bladder and intestines. These
organs perform the same functions for the frog as they do in human bodies: The heart
pumps blood throughout the body, and the lungs aid in breathing. The stomach and
intestines, like ours, digest food--from insects to fish, or even other frogs.

Functions of the Internal Anatomy of a Frog:

 Stomach - Stores food and mixes it with enzymes to begin digestion.
 Small Intestine - The principal organ of digestion and absorption of digested
food.
 Duodenum - The anterior (front) part of the small intestine into which food
passes from the stomach
 Pancreas - Gland which secretes digestive enzymes into the duodenum.
 Gall Bladder - Sac which stores bile.
 Large Intestine - Posterior organ of the digestive system which stores
undigested food.
 Liver - Secretes bile and processes digested food molecules
 Urinary Bladder - The organ that collects and stores urine until released.
 Fat Bodies - Masses of fat in the body cavities of frogs. Needed for hibernating
and mating
 Spleen - Organ in the frog’s circulatory system that makes, stores, and destroys
blood cells.
 Cloaca - Organ through which the products of the frog’s digestive and urogenital
system pass when discharged from the body.

Functions of the Frog Heart

 Heart - Pumping
organ of the
circulatory system
(has 3 chambers).
 Anterior Vena
Cava - Large vein
that carries blood
from the anterior
part of the body
toward the heart.
 Posterior Vena
Cava - Large vein
that carries blood
from the posterior
part of the body
towards the heart.
 Sinus Venosus -
Sac that receives blood from the vena cava
  Right Atrium - Chamber of the frogs heart which receives blood from the sinus
venosus.
 Left Atrium - The chamber of the heart that receives blood from the lungs.
 Pulmonary Veins - The blood vessels that carry blood form the lungs to the left
atrium.
 Ventricle - Chamber of a frog’s heart that pumps blood out of the heart to the
lungs and other parts of the body.
 Truncus Arteriosis - Large artery in a frog that carries blood away from the
ventricle into branches that lead to all parts of the body

The kidneys of a frog, like many other animals, filter the blood and excretes excess
water. The ureters then carry the urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder.

Functions of the Frog Brain

 Spinal Cord - Main pathway to and from

the brain
 Spinal Nerves - Nerves that lead to and
from the spinal cord
 Olfactory Lobe - Part of the frog’s brain
associated with the sense of smell
 Cerebrum - Part of the brain that is
associated with memory, pain, and
voluntary muscle control.
 Optic Lobes - Part of the brain
associated with vision.
 Cerebellum - Part of a brain that
influences balance and equilibrium.
 Medulla Oblongata - Part of a brain that
is the center for some involuntary
functions.
 Cranial Nerves - Nerves that lead to and
from the brain.

Frog Reproductive System Functions

 Urinary Ducts - Tubes in a frog that carry urine from the kidneys to the cloaca
 Urinary Bladder - The organ that collects and stores urine until released.
 Adrenal Glands - Organs located near the kidneys which secrete hormones.
 Ova or Eggs - Female sex cell or gametes
 Fat Bodies - The fat bodies are needed for hibernating, metamorphosis and for
mating. These are areas in the body containing stored energy.
 Ovaries - Organs of the female reproductive system that produce the eggs.
 Oviducts - Tubes of a female frog’s reproductive system that carry eggs from the
ovaries to the cloaca.
 Testes - Male sex organs that produce sex cells (sperm).
 Sperm - Male sex cell or gametes.
 Seminal Vesicles - Enlarged distal sections of the male frog’s urinary ducts that
collect sperm prior to entry into the cloaca.