As it turns out, a frog dissection, like other complex animal dissections , reveals enough about how our bodies work to be valuable. They’re also practical, too. Frog dissection is cheaper to conduct than larger animal and organ dissections. They’re smaller animals (requiring less manual dexterity) and can be raised quickly for laboratory work.
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As it turns out, a frog dissection, like other complex animal dissections , reveals enough about how our bodies work to be valuable. They’re also practical, too. A frog dissection is cheaper to conduct than larger animal and organ dissections. They’re smaller animals (requiring less manual dexterity) and can be raised quickly for laboratory work.
The eyes and the thin nictitating membranes that cover the eyes, so the frog can see under water, are the most important and probably easiest to locate on the frog's head. You should also locate and label the mouth.
Bullfrogs, while not the only frogs used for dissection, are among the most common. The use of these frogs serves a dual purpose, controlling their populations and providing a learning experience at the same time.
For example, the tongue of a frog has adapted to have great length, strength, and speed in order to effectively catch insects in flight. The role that this tongue allows the frog to fulfill—consuming insects as its primary food source—is important in the balance of many ecosystems the frog is a part of.
Frogs and humans have similar systems, including nervous, circulatory, digestive and respiratory. Both are classified as vertebrates, with a spine and nerves that spread across the body. Both frogs and humans have very developed senses of hearing, managed by the nervous system.
Frogs are excellent model organisms for scientific studies of development, behavior, anatomy, and physiology. They are commonly used in biology classes as representative vertebrates with specialized amphibian characteristics and behaviors.
Frogs lack several vertebrae and do not have a pelvis. They also have structures not found in the human skeleton i.e. the urostyle. A frog has a 3 chambered heart (2 upper chambers (atria) and only 1 lower chamber) compared to the 4 chambered heart a human has. Humans and amphibians have lots of differences too.
Frogs are often used in dissection when demonstrating the organ systems of a complex organism. The presence and position of the organs found in a frog are similar enough to a person to be able to provide insights into the internal workings of the human body.
Dissection is also important because it: Helps students learn about the internal structures of animals. Helps students learn how the tissues and organs are interrelated. Gives students an appreciation of the complexity of organisms in a hands-on learning environment.
Dissection is used to help to determine the cause of death in autopsy (called necropsy in other animals) and is an intrinsic part of forensic medicine. A key principle in the dissection of human cadavers is the prevention of human disease to the dissector.
Frogs and humans have similar systems, including nervous, circulatory, digestive and respiratory. Both are classified as vertebrates, with a spine and nerves that spread across the body. Both frogs and humans have very developed senses of hearing, managed by the nervous system.
Although the striated muscles (muscles for movement) connect with muscle fibers and tissues in both species, the number and types of bones effect specialized movement. For example, humans have 24 vertebrae that allow for back arching movements, while frogs have only nine.
Scientists found additional similarities between the frog genes and human genes. For instance, genes in frogs have very similar neighboring genes as humans about 90 percent of the time. In other words, the frog genome contains the same sort of “gene neighborhoods” as the human genome.
In the 2000 Society and Animals study, one said moving from dissecting clams, fish and frogs to fetal pigs helped them better understand mammal anatomy.
Dissecting a real animal provides students with more learning opportunities. Dissection can encourage students to pursue careers in science. Animal dissection is a productive and worthwhile use for dead animals.
Why is dissection important? Dissection of the human body is the only method of direct observation and measurement of the structures, organs, bones, ligaments and tendons that allow the body to function. Dissection is a fundamental part of the training of physicians and other care providers.
Capillaries take the oxygen from the skin into the bloodstream. On land, frogs usually get oxygen by taking air through their throats into saclike lungs. Frog hearts have three chambers.
The lifecycle of a frog begins with a fertilized egg. The female frog usually lays eggs in water in a string or mass that sticks to vegetation. The male frog fertilizes the eggs as they are laid. The outer layer of a fertilized egg is a jelly-like material that swells in water, forming a protective coating. The fertilized egg is a single cell that rapidly divides, again and again, producing new cells that quickly differentiate into the organs of the frog embryo. Within 2 to 25 days, depending on water temperature, the egg hatches into a tadpole. The tadpole looks more like a fish at first than like a frog. As the tadpole develops, it forms gills that allow it to breathe efficiently underwater. Its tail grows longer and a fin forms, which allows the tadpole to swim effectively.
Look for the nostrils ( external nares) in front of the eyes, then open the frog’s mouth to see the internal opening of the nostrils ( internal nares ). (Cut the hinge joints of the mouth with scissors to make it easier to open.)
Aquatic frogs have webbed rear feet, usually with five toes. Their front feet are not webbed and usually have four toes. Tree frogs have suction cups on their toes that allow them to cling to the bark of trees. Frogs have large, bulging eyes that rotate in their socket, providing sight in almost any direction.
(Toads are also tailless, leaping amphibians, but they usually have rough, warty skin.) Frogs range in size from less than 0.5 inches to 12 inches long!
Introduction to Frogs. Frogs are animals that belong to the class Amphibia, commonly known as amp hibians. Amphibians live both on land and in the water; sometimes they live in water only before they are fully grown.
Observe that the frog’s skin is colored and spotted to help camouflage it. This coloring can change and is controlled by pigment cells in the skin called chromatophores. At the base of the frog’s back, locate the anus, which is the opening from which waste, eggs, and sperm are discharged.
Frogs and other small animals are typically dissected in biology labs to learn anatomy. If your class is going to dissect a frog, your teacher should provide all the necessary tools for the job. It doesn't take much, though. You'll usually need a clean dissection tray and some pins to hold the frog’s skin out.
This article has been viewed 229,394 times. Dissecting a frog is a common and important experience in introductory biology or anatomy. Although you may feel intimidated at the thought of dissecting an animal, you can have a profound learning experience if you know how to do it correctly. Steps.
You'll usually need a clean dissection tray and some pins to hold the frog’s skin out. The tray is a bit like a baking pan with a rubber lining on the bottom. To make incisions, you'll need a sharp scalpel and a pair of tweezers, or some other kind of poking device, dissection pins, lab instructions, and your frog.
To get the skin out of the way and open up the frog to work, it's usually common to pull the skin back and secure it into the rubber bottom of the dissection tray with pins. Pull it back gently until it connects with the bottom of the tray, then use a pin at each corner to secure the skin back.
Most frog dissection labels involve a basic identification procedure. You'll be required to open the frog, identify the basic organs and systems of the frog, explore the anatomy of the animal, and probably fill out a short lab report to accompany the project.
Discard your dissected frog as soon as you're done with your paperwork. In the lab, there should be a designated disposal area and a place to clean up your disse ction tray. Wash it thoroughly with soap and water, throw away your gloves, and wash your hands thoroughly.
The liver is the biggest organ in the frog's body, and should be the easiest to locate. It's usually brownish and composed of three big structures, or lobes. Sometimes, it's also streaked with a greenish or bluish color, as well. For the most part, you won't want to remove the organs until you've identified them.