Mammalian Dissection

The Rat Rattus norvegicus

Materials

Lab notebookeveryone writes notes; everyone not actually working on the rat needs to draw all diagrams. Dissecting Pan and Tools

Scalpel, dissecting scissors, probes

Gloves (if actually dissecting/handling rats) Plastic bag, labeled with names of students in group Rat

Rules

No eating or drinking at all! No carving in black wax No working ahead No mutilations

Especially cutting off head or tail Squishing, squashing, or cutting organs into pieces

No daresthe rat is cured in poisonous chemicals.

Preserved Rats

These rats were raised in captivity on a farm Euthanized by gas. Cuts made at neck and tail/leg and injected with colored latex dye to remove blood and see blood vessels Cured in formaldehyde (carcinogen), then washed clean and placed in a safer juice. Preserving kills all bacteria, so they do not spoil until bacteria starts to grow

Rats!
In your lab book- Kingdom: Animal Phylum: Chordate Class: Mammal Order: Rodent Family: Muridae Genus: Rattus Species: norvegicus

Meet your rat

Give it a good bath under running water for at least a minute. Hang upside down for about another minute to drain. Dry rat and tray with paper towel.

Mammals are Bilateral

Lab:
1.

Is your rat perfectly bilateral? How is it not?

Mammals are very similar in structure

Skeletal Organ Systems DNA

Lab:
2.

3.

Draw a simple rat in your lab notebook. (almost full size) Label the following anatomical terms of location:

Anatomical Terms of Location

Cranial: The head end Caudal: The tail end

Anatomical Terms of Location

Rostral: On the headtoward the nose

Anatomical Terms of Location

Dorsal: Top (or back) Ventral: Bottom (or front)

Anatomical Terms of Location

Proximal: Closer to the body Distal: Further from the body Right and Leftthe organisms right and left!

Anatomical Terms of Location

Medianthe center line of the body Medialtowards the median Lateralaway from the median

Planes of the body

Sagittala plane that divides the body into left and right Dorsaldivides the body in dorsal and ventral Transversedivides the body in cranial and caudal

External Features

Label the head, trunk and tail

Trunk is divided into the thorax and abdomen, separated internally by the diaphragm Nares: nostril covers for protection Vibrissae: sensory whiskers

Label and define the purpose

4. 5.

Male External Features

6.

Identify the gender of your animal Label and define the purpose
7. 8.

Scrotal sac: holds testes at appropriate temp. Urethral oriface: where urine exits

Female External Features

Label and define the purpose

9.

Mammary papillae: nipples

How many are there?

10. Vaginal oriface: baby rats exit

The Skull

Draw and Label and define the purpose

11. 12. 13. 14.

Maxilla: upper jaw Mandible: lower jaw Incisors: front teeth for cutting What did the rat probably eat in the wild? Grasses and grains

Teeth
15. Draw and Label the different teeth in the mandible

Molars, premolars, incisors

Muscular System
16.

What are three basic purposes for muscles?

Movement (of skeleton), protection (of organs), function (of organs such as stomach, heart)

Skeletal Muscle

First, you must partially skin the rat. Do not cut through any muscle!

Muscles to Define

17. Masseter jaw muscle, to close mouth 18. Pectoralis chest muscle, push forelimbs 19. Triceps forelimb muscle, extend 20. Biceps forelimb muscle, bend

More Muscles

21. Abdominal oblique move abdomen all directions, protect and hold guts 22. Quadriceps hind Leg group muscles to extend 23. Gastrocnemius calf muscle, extend toe

Digestive System
24. 25. 26.

Use scissors to cut the tissue at the back of the jaw to flip open the mandible. Find and define: Hard Palate ridged; helps hold and chew food Soft palate smooth; helps swallow Epiglottis opens/closes to the trachea

Opening the Abdominal Cavity

Make an incision below the pectoralis down almost to the tail. Scissors are easy. Make lateral incisions to lay back the abdominal muscles.

Draw and Label Organs in the Abdominal Cavity

27.
28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34.

Liver--find functions sin guide. Stomach Spleen--immunity Small intestine absorbs nutrients Cecumdigests cellulose Large intestine/colon absorbs water Rectumfunction (holds feces, not location Pancreasmakes insulin and other hormones, function, not location

Draw the Urinary System

35. Kidneysfilter the nitrogen wastes from blood 36. Renal arterycarries unfiltered, but oxygenated blood to kidney 37. Renal veincarries filtered, but deoxygenated blood from kidney 38. Uretercarries urine to kidney 39. Urinary bladderstores urine 40. Urethracarries urine out of bladder

Male Reproductive System

41. Testesmakes sperm cells and testosterone 42. Epididymisstores sperm cells 43. Vas deferenscarries sperm from testes to prostate 44. Prostate glandadds seminal fluid 45. Coagulating and Vesicular Glandsadds to seminal fluid, makes it coagulate

Female Reproductive System

46. Ovarymakes female gametes 47. Oviduct carries ovum 48. Uterine horns where fetus develop 49. Uteruswhere the uterine horns meet (not where baby rats develop)

Remove and review these structuresKeep intact!

Liver Spleen Stomach, small intestine, cecum

Draw the Thoracic Cavity

Use scissors to cranially cut the sternum to the neck. 50. Diaphragmseparates thoracic cavity from abdominal. Moves to allow air in and out of lungs 51. Thoracic Cavityholds heart and lungs Neck: 51A. Carotid arterycarries oxygenated blood to the head 51B. Jugular veincarries deoxygenated blood back to the heart from the head

Respiratory System
52. Tracheabreathing tube 53. How many lobes of the lungs are there? (3 or 4)

Circulatory System
54. How many chambers in a mammal heart? four 55. Aortic archaorta bending around to go down to the body. 56. Cranial Vena Cavacarries blood from the body to the heart (stained blue) 57. Descending aortacarries blood to the body (stained red) 58. Caudal Vena Cavacarries blood from the head to the heart (stained blue)

Endocrine System

59.

60.

Responsible for making hormones Adrenal Gland makes adrenalin Thymusmakes T-cells (white blood cells) for the immune system

Review your entire rat

Practice finding and naming the anatomical terms of location

Review your entire rat

Practice finding and naming the structures