JANUARY 20, 2020

NAME: MWENDALUBI CHIHOLYONGA

EXPERIMENT 8: FROG DISSECTION

LECTURER: DR. KATETE

BIOLOGY LAB REPORT
HPFP 2B: 31938
 Biology 2

Experiment #13

Lab Activity 13: Frog Dissection

Aim: to study the external and internal organs of the frog I.

Learning Objectives:

Frogs belong to the class amphibian. Although many differences exist between humans and
frogs, the basic body plans are similar. Humans and frogs both belong to the phylum
Chordata. By studying the anatomy of the frog, you will better understand the human body
systems.

Introduction

An organ is a tissue complex, being composed of two or more types of tissues associated to
perform some general bodily function. Stained microscopic sections of organs will show how
the various cell types and tissues are combined.

1. Frog skin.

The skin of a frog serves several functions, including

(a) physical protection of the body;

(b) biological protection against the invasion of foreign organisms;

(c) respiration, the exchange of oxygen and Carlson dioxide; and

(d) production of useful secretions to keep the skin moist for respiration and slippery to avoid
capture- by enemies. The skin consists of two major parts,

THE FROG: EXTERNAL FEATURES AND MOUTH CAVITY AND INTERNAL

ORGANS.

Frogs live in water and in moist places on land and have various special adaptations in structure
and function that enable them to live successfully in both of these environments. The leopard
frog {Rana pipiens) and the bullfrog {Rana catesbeiana) serve well for introductory study
because they are easy to obtain and large enough for the beginning student to dissect readily,
and because the anatomy of a frog resembles that of the human body in many features.

Specimens for dissection are killed with an anaesthetic such as ether. They may be dissected
immediately but commonly are preserved against decay in formalin (5 to 10 per cent solution).
Preserved specimens should be washed well before being handled and at times during
dissection.

Dissection of the frog comprises a series of exercises in which all parts of a specimen will be
used in turn. Instructions must he followed carefully, 'and no part should he cut or discarded
until directions are given to do so. When examining any small part under a hand lens or
binocular microscope, disturbing surface reflections will be avoided if it is placed under water.

Purpose:

1. Investigate the anatomy and organ systems of the frog.

2. To observe the relationship between organ structure and function.

3. To compare frog and human anatomy to better understand body systems.

Vocabulary:

1. Dorsal – toward the back

2. Ventral – toward the belly

3. Lateral – toward the sides

4. Median – toward the middle

5. Anterior – toward the head

6. Posterior – toward the tail

Materials:

1. Gloves
2. Dissecting tray
3. Preserved frog
4. Forceps
5. Scalpel
6. Dissecting scissors
7. Hand lens
8. Probe
9. Dissecting pins

Preparation:

1. Got a tray and placed the frog on it

2. Used a scalpel to cut the outer skin

3. Used the dissecting pins to pin the frog skin

4. Used the forceps to remove the organs

Procedure:

Part A - External Anatomy:

1. Made sure frog was right side up so we could see the face.

2. Identified the eyes, which had a nictitating membrane that serves to moisten the eye.

3. Identified the tympanic membrane, or eardrum. It is located behind each eye.

4. Found the external nares or nostrils.

5. Found the digits, which are like fingers on both the fore and hind limbs

6. Determined if the frog was male or female by looking at the innermost finger of the
forelimb.

Part C – Internal Anatomy: Dissection

Opening up the frog

1. Placed the frog ventral side up (on its back) and pin its four limbs down
2. Lifted the frog’s skin with forceps between the rear legs.
3. Made a small cut through the lifted skin with the scalpel. Took care to cut only the
skin.
4. Used the scissors to continue the incision up to the midline all the way through the
frog’s skin.
5. Stopped cutting when your scissors reach the frog’s neck.
6. The first incisions were made between the front legs. Then the same was done with
the rear legs.
7. Picked up the flap of skin with the forceps.
8. Used a scalpel to help separate the skin from the muscle layer below. Then pinned the
skin to the dissection tray.
Layer 1

1. The liver is a large, brownish coloured organ covering most of the body cavity.

2. The heart is a small triangular shaped organ between the front legs, just above the
liver.

3. The frog’s heart has three chambers. The picture (right) shows only the lower
chamber of the heart. Can you find all three chambers?

Layer 2

4. Reveal layer two. The heart and liver in layer one hide some of the organs below
them.

5. Use the forceps and the probe to pick up the liver and reveal layer two.

6. Layer two includes the gall bladder, the stomach, and the small intestine.

7. Examine the gall bladder. Under the liver, we see a small, greenish sac. This is the
gallbladder. You might also see it by separating the right and middle lobes of the
liver.
8. Examine the stomach. The stomach looks like a sac on the frog's left side (on your
right). It is a large firm organ.

9. Examine the small intestine. The small intestine is a long folded, tube like organ, that
is posterior the stomach.

Layer 3

10. Reveal layer three. Remove the liver to see the organs in layer three.

11. The liver is easier to remove if you remove the gall bladder and heart at this time.
Putto the side, but still on the tray.

12. Take a close look at the lungs and pancreas. The lungs are difficult to locate in a
preserved frog. They are on either side of the heart.

13. You may need to remove the lungs and place them on the tray as well.

14. You can't see the pancreas without lifting the stomach and intestines with the forceps.
The pancreas is a thin, yellowish ribbon.

15. The intestines are held in place by thin, transparent tissue called the mesentery.

16. If you have a female frog, you will need to remove the ovaries before you can see
layer four. Place the organs in the tray.

Layer 4

17. To see layer four, you need to remove the stomach, small intestine, large intestine,
and pancreas. Place on the tray.

18. Examine the spleen. Locate the spleen in the male frog. It is a small, round reddish
organ. It is a little more difficult to find the spleen in a female frog

19. The kidneys are elongated, brownish coloured organs found in the lower part of the
frog's abdomen.

20. Female kidneys are located in the same place but can only been seen after removal of
the ovaries and oviducts.
Part E – Identification: Label the parts, you can do this with your partner.

Answers
1. Internal nares
2. Esophagus
3. Glottis
4. Tongue
5. Median lobe of the liver
6. Left lobe of the liver
7. Stomach
8. Pancreas
9. Pyloric valve
10. Spleen
11. Coelom
12. Anus
13. Cloaca
14. Urinary bladder
15. Large intestine
16. Ileum
 17. Mesentery
18. Duodenum
19. Bile duct
20. Gall bladder
21. Right lobe of the liver
22. Mandible
23. Opening to the vocal sac
24. Opening to the eustachian tube
25. Vomerine teeth
26. Maxillary teeth

Viva Voice
1. Did you have a male or female frog? How did you identify this fact?

Ans: It was male because the male pad has an enlarged darker patched pad that the
male uses to grasp a female during mating

2. Where is the frog’s liver and what it the purpose of this structure?

Ans: It is located just below the heart. The liver is brown and the purpose is to make
the digestive juice called bile.

3. How are the feet of the frog adapted to swimming?

Ans: The webbed feet assist them in swimming by creating more surface area
allowing the frogs to apply more force against the water, as the frog strikes
backwards with the leg, the webbed foot opens creating a dam against the water.

4. How does the length of the small intestine relate to its function in absorbing digested
food?

Ans: Because nutrients in food are absorbed in the body through diffusion or active
transport, the nutrients must come into contact with the walls of the intestines to be
absorbed. The small intestine is very long so that the nutrients will have more time
to be absorbed into the body as they pass through.

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